Canterlot, the home of high class, culture, refinement and nobility. A place desperately in need of a lesson in humility. Luckily, the newly-appointed human mayor is here to bring these stuck-up nobles down a notch… or several.
Election time is over, and Mark has won a landslide victory at the polls. The resident human has now been sworn in by Princess Celestia herself as Canterlot’s newly-appointed mayor!
While only a few knew of its existence, and even less of its necessity. The corruption wrought by the previous mayor, who only catered to the rich and famous of the city, leaving the middle and lower class with virtually nothing. The previous mayors only seemed to focus on keeping the prestigious image of nobility that the city has been known for. The need for change was crucial.
A voice of and for the people is needed to be put in charge to correct these wrongs. Despite it not being his intention at first, the ponies of the city have spoken. He has been appointed mayor of Canterlot, the first Human one to boot. Now, he has full intention in keeping to his campaign promises for change and improving the quality of life for every single resident of Canterlot.
He is prepared to fight for his promises, even with all the drama and scandals that those promises would bring with it. With such determination, it would seem he has caught the attention of a certain alabaster princess.
Mature rating for secret sexual encounters later on the story. Disclaimer, I don’t have a solid plan for this story and I will construct it on the march.
Blowing the steam emanating from his coffee cup, a silhouette of a human lent on the door frame of his balcony as he observed the majestic castle in the distance. He lifted his cup as though he was waving a greeting to an invisible guest. He admired how the night transitioned into day, chuckling at not only how fast the transition occurred, but how the pegasi got to work seconds after the day officially started, a work ethic he was more than eager to emulate.
He placed his cup down on a nearby table and began his morning routine. After taking an invigorating shower, he entered his wardrobe and picked out a nice suit; A white dress shirt paired with formal, dark brown pants, a silver vest, and a shiny pair of black dress shoes. He then walked over to a large mirror. What he saw in front of him was a human man with tanned skin, looking dapper as hell. He meticulously corrected some small imperfections in his suit, before smiling. Followed by a quick combing to tidy up his slightly messy hair. After he was done, he flashed his teeth to check for any leftovers from his breakfast. With one last look, he smiled and threw himself a wink before turning around and leaving.
With an air of positivity, the human marched through the streets of Canterlot as ponies begin to open their shops and start their day. They happily greeted him as he passed by.
"Hi, Mayor!" A grocer hollered.
"Hey, Mayor Mark!!!" A few kids shouted, stopping their game to wave at him.
"Hey Mark, when are you gonna give me a rematch?" An elderly unicorn called out, pointing at a chessboard. All the while, Mark simply nodded politely or waved back at them as he continued on to city hall. Walking into the building, he immediately headed towards his office… where a huge stack of papers was waiting for him. A stack which seemed to also greet him.
"Mayor Mark!" A smiling thestral mare peaked from one side of the stack, her long, spiky, purple hair unmistakable. Her style was the very definition of punk, right up to the nose piercings, yet was also somehow still formal. She wore a neon green business jacket paired with a light purple skirt and a flashy pair of green high heels. She seems to be carrying a clipboard filled with appointments and errands he must achieve for the day.
"Good morning. Hope you’re ready sir because we have a long day ahead of us!"
Mark shook his head with a smile.
"Like you need to ask. Come on, let’s go in order from top to least priority, Ms. Drusilla." He instructed, cracking his knuckles and neck. "Let's tackle this monster!"
She nodded a couple of times and the two soon begin working in earnest, with papers practically flying everywhere as they reviewed each and every one for approval.
Over the weeks and months after being elected mayor, Mark worked diligently to improve the city's living conditions. This quickly earned him a spot on the front pages of various newspapers and magazines, as the human tended to move around a lot.
********
"Okay everyone, I’ve heard your complaints and fears!" Mark asserted as he addressed a group of Canterlot’s nobles, "You have nothing to worry about, I'm not here to steal your caviar and expensive bubbly wine!"
This quip garnered some laughter from the audience as Mark continued, "But seriously, what if I told you there was a way for you to become heroes? So much so that ponies will begin to name buildings after you? All without spending a single bit."
That offer earned a round of applause and his face on the cover of several high society magazines.
========
"Ponies, let's face the facts here. Our city is currently high up on a mountain where we have to spend thousands of bits just to transfer our garbage from up here.” Mark pointed outside the window to the city proper, “All the way down there.” His finger shifted downward.
“So instead of working hard…” Mark lifted a strange yellow rock into the view of the waste management directors present. “... Why don’t we work smart?”
This only brought looks of confusion on the ponies in the room, so a grey-furred mare continued after Mark paused.
"These rocks dissolve all sorts of material into a plastic-like solution, malleable and ready to re-use as a resource for any sort of situation," she explained in a deliberate, monotone voice. Then grabbed the rock, "It will save you millions in transportation fees if mass-produced and I have the formula to create this rock."
Everypony listening began to nod in approval, now fully intrigued and wanting to hear more as the press took another picture of the mayor.
========
"These gem mines have been abandoned for over a century already."
Mark paced back and forth in an underground gem cave that was packed full of red crystals. Around him were Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Twilight, alongside a handful of their advisers. "I know that in recent years this place held a dreadful memory of what otherwise should have been a cheerful time."
Twilight looked down, knowing exactly what he was implying.
"But if you could allow me, instead of leaving this place as a scar of a dreadful invasion, I can turn this awful memory of the past into a tourist attraction. Otherwise, it could be a solution to the recent thestral overpopulation problem, by creating viable residences here. Further still, these crystals and gems would provide a feast to offer the ambassador of the dragons, and if we were to dare, maybe all of the above." He listed off his ideas, confidence oozing from his lips. The Princesses weigh their options until they look toward Mark and collectively nod.
Princess Twilight walked over and shook his hand in time for a new picture of him to be taken.
========
Speaking from the podium, Mark addressed both the thestral population and Princess Luna, who listen intently to his speech. "For centuries, the thestral population has been received with wariness, fear, and sometimes plain old discrimination, purely based on your teeth, preference for meat and nocturnal behavior. I say we need to put a stop to these views. I won’t lie to you folks, this process will need a long period of adjustment, sacrifice, patience and tolerance. But I can, and will, guarantee you a place in our glorious city, joining the working class and bringing life to the night. I encourage you to enjoy the wonders of this city and invigorate its nightlife, making it more secure and showing the population and the population that the night’s worth is beyond just a time for rest. Mark my words, Las Pegasus might be the city that never sleeps, but our city can be well known as the town whose glamour never dims!"
Everypony applauded ecstatically at the proposal, with Princess Luna even giving him a standing ovation, with yet another headline created that night.
********
After signing off on the last document of the day, Mark lent back on his chair and sighed. He rested his numb hand on the table. In a chair to the left of his desk, Drusilla was not far behind. She was recovering from sending the last scroll away and also needed a breather.
"Another day another bit, right Ms. Drusilla?" Mark asked, wearily.
"You can say that again" she sighed before checking her clipboard one final time.
"Well, I think this was a very productive day!" Mark stretched and stood up. "Time to punch the card and turn off the lights for the day."
"Wait, Mr. Mayor" Drusilla stood up and blocked his way, raising a finger. "There is one last issue on the list."
"Come on Druisy, it’s way past 9 already, and we both went the extra mile here. Whatever it is, it can wait till tomorrow, first thing in the morning." Mark complained.
"Don't worry, this one will not take too much time. Just a reminder that tomorrow is the Great Mayor Assembly." Drusilla replied.
"Wait, already?" Mark quickly checked a nearby calendar; sure enough, tomorrow was circled with arrows pointing at the date. He then scratched his chin. "Huh, would you look at that, you’re right."
"Don't worry sir, everything is in order! Your suit is ready, and the invitation is secure. Your seat is also reserved, and the chefs have been informed of your hay allergy and carnivorous diet." She nodded as she checked off all the details that might be needed before smiling at him. "All that is left is to remind you; 8:30 am sharp in front of the castle gates."
"Got it, though… Are you absolutely sure it’s okay for me to request a steak? The last thing I want is to find out I’m seated next to a bovine and turn the whole thing awkward."
"It will be fine sir, while most of Equestria’s mayors currently in office are ponies, there are a small number of griffons, dragons, and even thestrals who are all well known for their carnivorous diet. Besides, I checked. You will be seated next to the mayors of Vancouver and Las Pegasus, a thestral and griffon respectively, so there shouldn’t be an issue there."
"Thank you Drusilla you’re a lifesaver!" Mark said as they resumed their march out of the office and turned off the lights, before finally exiting and locking up the town hall. "Are you absolutely sure you don't want to come too? I'm sure Celly wouldn't mind me bringing a plus one."
Drusilla physically flinched and cleared her throat. "Sir, I told you that’s not correct etiquette, addressing our rulers with such informality." she reprimanded him with a small scowl, "And for the tenth time… I still think it would be highly inappropriate. This meeting is not the Grand Galloping Gala, it’s-"
Mark rolled his eyes and finished her sentence. "A gathering of all the mayors of Equestria and the princesses to discuss matters of national scale, and determine potential solutions to pressing matters needed to be addressed… Yes, I remember. You made sure to remind me of how big this event is gonna be."
"Do you sir? ‘Cause despite my constant attempts to help you understand the gravity of the situation, you keep trying to dismiss it as nothing out of the ordinary. The reality is that this is a restricted event, where the princesses plan to discuss very sensitive topics with you and the rest of the mayors!” She says, drilling into him how important and top secret this meeting really was.
"All the more reason why I want you right by my side Drusy!" Mark exclaimed, arguing back. "It will help me relax if my BFBS (Best Friend / Best Secretary) accompanies me to help me keep track of anything potentially important." He poked her arm as she rolled her eyes and chuckled, pinching his finger and moving it off her arm.
"While I appreciate the compliment and recognition of my hard work, I must insist sir. The rules are more than clear, this is a MAYORS-only party" She poked his chest to emphasize her point before winking. "So you better save that plus one for the next Grand Galloping Gala!"
"Wait, you want to go to the Gala with me?"
"Oh wow, sir! This is so unexpected" She faked surprise before smiling excitedly. "But yes, it will be my pleasure. Thank you so much!" She quickly replied before turning around and heading to her home, leaving Mark to wonder what had just happened.
"W-Wait Drusy, is there really no way for you to reconsider?"
"Nope!" She then extended her wings and took flight. "Remember! 8:30 sharp. Oh, and enjoy the view!" She said cryptically, confusing Mark as she flew away… until her altitude allowed him to see up her skirt. He discovered that she was wearing a frilly black thong. He swore that she even gave a little shake for his enjoyment. Getting the idea, he turned his head and awkwardly laughed it off, realizing she did that on purpose.
Ah, Drusy, you queen of tease. Always waiting to be out of working hours to start with the flirts.
Sighing in defeat, Mark turned around to head to his own home to prepare for the big day tomorrow.
********
The Next Day…
After getting up and doing his daily morning routine, as well as donning his fanciest suit, Mark followed his secretary's instructions. He arrived at the castle gates right on time and was escorted through the castle by two guards until they reached a ballroom where the other mayors were mingling and chatting with one another. In the far corner was a table with a selection of small snacks and drinks for them to enjoy before the formal assembly began.
"The assembly will begin in an hour. Please feel free to explore the premises and meet your peers before then." One of the guards addressed the human. "The princesses aren't here yet, so don't bother looking for them," he continued, with a more exhausted tone, clearly having had to answer this question several times already.
"Thanks," Mark replied, nodding to the two guards who saluted him and left him to his own devices.
He walked over to the refreshments table and grabbed a cup of cider before walking around the room, trying to find something to do while he waited for everything to start.
"Mayor Mark!" A female voice caught his attention and he turned to find a thestral with a mohawk mane style. Both her mane and tail were blue, while her dark gray fur had a purple-ish tone to it in the daylight. A pair of velvety black leather wings peeked from behind her back. She was carrying a small golden purse that accented well with the sequins on her pitch-black formal dress, tight enough to flow snuggly over her very generous curves. Curves that showed off a nice pair of double-D breasts. At first, she started back at him, intrigued by his own sharp appearance, but then smirked as she held up a martini. "We meet at last."
She took a sip of her drink before extending her open hand. "Mayor Spectral, I’m delighted to greet the famous Human of Canterlot."
"Likewise Ms. Spectral" Mark gently took her hand, respectfully giving it a small kiss before letting it go "Although, I'm not sure if famous would be the word to describe myself."
"Nonsense dear! You’ve been the talk of all of Equestria for quite some time now." She replied walking much closer towards him as her eyes took on a more sultry tint.
"I have?" He asks, confused.
"But of course, especially from mares and stallions in our line of work. We all have heard stories of the mysterious human that won the hearts of the ponies in Canterlot, who then rose to the position of mayor and has been diligently working on improving the lives of everypony…" She put her finger on his chest and started to circle around, her smile now seemed to take on an amorous air. "... Especially the thestral community, after all, that you have done for us."
Mark chuckled nervously and slowly pushed the finger away. "Yeah, well… That’s very nice of you to say, but really, I just said what everyone was thinking. If anything, considering where I work, I really didn't imagine that anyone would notice."
"And why would you want to hide that?" A green earth pony mare chimed in as she approached the two. She had a rather long light-red mane, styled into thick dreads that had some white flowers placed in them. Her simple, ankle-length white gown was accessorized with a gold choker that had a blue gem in the center, alongside a tiara made of flowers. "You have such a large and alluring aura all over you, which spreads everywhere." She looks up, seemingly at nothing, before directing her attention back towards him again. “Of course, other ponies will see it, or at least perceive its warmth by proximity."
She extended her hand for him to shake "Nice to meet you, Mark. My name is Tree Hugger, and if I may say, you have one incredibly beautiful mosaic of colors to your aura"
"Ah… thanks?" He replied, raising an eyebrow. Then collected himself and shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you too, Tree Hugger. You uh… have a pretty aura too?"
She chuckled and shook her head "You don't need to lie or pretend Mark. I'm well aware that you can't see my aura, otherwise you would already know my desire to join our souls together!"
"Mayor Hugger! Please show some restraint…" Spectral intervened with a blush on her face. "We are, after all, civilized ponies who are just trying to have a normal conversation."
"Really? Then, why do I see the same aura on you?" Tree Hugger questioned, with seemingly real confusion.
If Spectra wasn't blushing before, she sure was blushing red now. Her eyes went wide before glaring at the earth pony who, after a moment, nodded and smiled again.
"Oh, I see! Are you maybe afraid of potential competition? Don't be. Love never should be restrained or fought over. We can both join souls with him!"
"Ok, I think I will leave you two to your discussion." Mark started to get an uncomfortable idea of what Tree Hugger was implying by 'joining souls' through the heated argument she and Spectral seem to be having. Or rather Spectral was having while Tree Hugger just continued to nod as the thestral continued to rant.
After getting some distance from the two, Mark sighed in relief at evading that mess and tried his luck again with somepony else.
"Ah, excuse me?" Feeling somepony tugging at his suit, Mark looked back and found a short changeling mare staring at him with her dark blue eyes. A small, slightly chipped horn peaked out from her pink, semi-translucent hair. Over her baby blue shell, she wore a purple vest paired with a blue dress shirt and a dark black skirt that was cut to follow the contours of her legs.
"I know this might sound crazy but…" She pulled out a notebook and a feather from a red purse she was carrying "…could I have your autograph?"
Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment over her request, as the human simply blinked at her.
"Ah…what…why?" Shaking his head as he sighed. "Alright, serious talk. Why is everyone treating me like I'm some sort of celebrity?"
It was now time for the changeling to look at him in confusion, making him quickly shake his head. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to confuse you." Mark took the notebook and complied, which brought a small cute smile to her face. "It’s just… I don't get it… What’s so impressive about me that made me earn this much attention? But where are my manners? I'm Mark by the way, nice to meet you Ms…?"
"…Ocellus" She responded with a pleasant smile. "And to answer, well… at least for me… it's mostly just how you inspire a lot of ponies."
"By being a mayor?" He asks.
She shook her head.
"By building yourself from the ground up and speaking your mind no matter what" she corrected. "Mr. Mark, not to be rude or anything… but how exactly don't you see it? You started as a victim of an accident that left you stranded in Equestria. Not letting that deter you, you made a name for yourself by working your way through a series of odd jobs until everypony knew who you were. You then ran for mayor of Canterlot, and won! Even though you were not born here! Ever since then, you made it your life’s mission to improve things and make everypony's life better! Of course, ponies would start to notice; first your deeds, then your past, and then finally your appearance. After that, fame was kind of inevitable."
He blinked once again. "So, I'm popular mostly because I'm a mayor that nobody has seen before, both by my appearance and what I’ve done while in office?"
She nodded in confirmation.
He was about to say something, but then thought about it for a second. "That…kind of makes sense in retrospect… Thanks for clearing the air, Ms. Ocellus."
"No problem!" She then blushed and looked away in embarrassment. "It also helps that most newspapers describe you as Canterlot's newest, most eligible bachelor," She quietly murmured to herself.
"What was that?" He asked, not hearing the last part.
"Nothing! Nothing! Ah… eh… oh look! I think I see my friend Gallus! Better go say hi! Nice meeting you sir! Hope we can talk more later, bye!" She quickly fired off, speaking a mile per minute, before flying away as fast as her semi-translucent wings manage to carry her, leaving Mark slightly confused.
What was that just now?
Before he could ponder more on the question, the sound of a trumpet got the attention of everypony in the room.
"The morning repast is almost ready, please can all mayors take their respective seats" calls out a guard.
Getting the idea, Mark pulled out his ticket and started looking for his seat. To his surprise, Mark noticed he was seated next to Princess Luna, who immediately smiled and waved at him to come closer. She wore a formal, dark blue sleeveless dress with a semi-translucent blue veil that brought attention to her large H-cup breasts. She also wore a silver choker encrusted with emeralds. Without a doubt, the Princess of the Night looked as distracting as always. The simple makeup around her beautiful green eyes which were periodically hidden by her flowing, ethereal mane gave her an alluring air. "Ah. Mayor Mark! Please, by all means, join us!"
"Greetings, your majesty." Mark gave her a small bow. "Are you sure it’s ok for me to sit here, I was under the impression that I was supposed to…"
"There is nothing wrong Mr. Mark, I changed the seat orders because I was hoping to have this opportunity to speak with you. Do not fret. I'm well aware of your diet preference and I assure you it will not be an issue for me, so I repeat…" She extends her arm in front of the empty seat.
"Would you join me for this meal?"
Not wanting to be disrespectful, especially with who was essentially his boss, Mark decided to comply and grabbed his seat moments before the banquet officially started. Soon after, Princess Twilight Sparkle herself announced the start of the assembly.
Announcements And Discussions (GC Edited By HP, PD Jr. And Racer 76)
As the meeting was conducted, the princess of the night took the opportunity to better get to know the local human. The meeting was like any other in the past; mild conversation, expected subjects like merchant routes and ways to ensure friendly relationships with other countries, and one or two short-lived discussions between two mayors.
"Tell us Mr. Mark, is everything to your liking?" She questioned neutrally while taking a bite from her enormous salad filled with fruits and nuts.
"It is, your highness." Mark nodded with a big grin feasting on the perfectly cooked steak with barbecue sauce and mashed potatoes with melted cheese. The addition of some bread to help him clean the plate was also welcome.
"I'm not gonna lie, I was worried ponies might get nervous with my choice of food, but I'm glad to see Drusilla was right that no one would think any different of me..." Taking a glance around, Mark let out a sigh of relief when he found nopony staring at him in disgust or fear. "...and this plate is just mouth-watering, I’ll be sure to give a compliment to the chef for making it."
"I'm glad to hear it. For a moment or two, I feared that I might have under or overcooked it a little. It’s nice to see that it was just me being nervous." Luna mentioned with some degree of pride while trying to stay as calm as possible.
The moment the human heard this he almost spat out his drink. It took a small coughing fit to recover his breath. Looking back at the princess of the night Mark saw her expression morph into a smug smirk of pride, both from her work and the surprise.
"Y-Your highness?" His eyes darted between his dish and the princess multiple times before calming down enough to proceed. "You’re kidding?"
"Is it so hard to believe, Mr. Mark?" She raised an eyebrow and pointed at him, "You of all ponies should know how we all are more than just profession and appearance."
"It's not that it's hard to believe, it's just…why? Why bother yourself with this? For me?"
She smiled and poked his nose "Consider it my way of showing gratitude, for all your help improving life in Canterlot and as inspiration to not be afraid of being myself." She sighed and looked down glumly, "Diligence and drive for helping others that all your predecessors most surely lacked."
"Princess Luna?"
"Forgive us for ranting, it is just before you took office everypony, including myself, unfortunately, took the position of mayor for granted. I mean my sister and I rule Equestria, for Faust's sake! I thought dealing with the issues of Canterlot was simple with our actions as regents. The gods know how many years our city suffered because of that and opportunists seeking an easy and relaxing life doing virtually nothing; or in your predecessor's case, only interested in helping the high class.
She shook her head before smiling once more and grabbing his hand, "That is why we wanted to express our gratitude for finally showing us what we have been ignoring for so long and being an inspiration in more than one form. By letting you be the first to test our hand-made dish."
"Oh no, princess, not you too! You’re praising me over nothing here." He tried to defend himself, but Luna only chuckled at his reaction.
"I respectfully disagree Mr. Mark, you gave my sister and I a lot to think about. You even gave us the courage to try something we wanted to do but kept making excuses to not try, like cooking in my case." She resumed her meal with closed eyes. "I remember while growing up, I always wanted to learn it. I’d always say I didn’t have the time or wasn't feeling ready or there were more pressing matters to attend to." She opened one eye to look at him, "You have helped Canterlot in more ways than one, Mr. Mark. Even if you don't see it."
Mark is about to reply when suddenly Twilight Sparkle rose and tapped her glass with a knife to get every creature's attention. The sequins on her light pink dress and long white gloves helped her stand out even more. "Mayors of Equestria, thank you all for having come for this assembly. If I can have your attention for a moment, I have an important announcement to make!"
The room grew quiet as she gained the attention of everypony present. Ponies and other creatures in the hall placed their utensils down and waited for the princess to continue. "As all of you might be aware or at the very least read about, even before I became the Princess Of Friendship, my life was filled with adventure and enriching memories that have helped form me into the princess you all see today. Under the guidance of my former teacher," Twilight takes a moment to indicate Celestia who nods with a calm smile in acknowledgment. "I have achieved goals that not even I considered possible. I passed the rite of ascension without even realizing I was taking it. I witnessed a power stronger than friendship shine and repelled an invasion in a single swoop. I lifted my very castle out of friendship and bravery when everything seemed lost, and in my most recent accomplishment, I spread the gospel of friendship throughout the land, going far beyond Equestria and into other nations as well. Culminating in all of us uniting to defeat old foes whose schemes nearly destroyed Equis as we know it."
She recounted old events as the mayor's nodded along, demonstrating what she meant. Even Mark started to bob his head, recalling all the stories Twilight and her friends told him over the years while he was still adjusting to his new world.
"So, after having thought about it for a long time and with careful deliberation and negotiation with not only the princesses of Equestria, but also rulers of other nations. I have decided to take the final step in my growth as a princess and become a full-fledged ruler of my very own kingdom!" She ends her speech by charging her horn and showing every creature present a projection of her castle rising in the middle of a city. The design having a striking resemblance to the Crystal Empire. "Ladies and gentle stallions, I would like to introduce you all to my future kingdom of friendship: 'New Harmonious!'"
Right after making that announcement every mayor in the room began bombarding the Princess with questions and comments on her decision; some in support, some against it, and the majority mostly curious about why she disclosed something so big to mayors of a country that she seems to be leaving and abdicating her position of power. That was when the other shoe dropped and left even Mark cold.
"I plan to establish New Harmonious as a coastal city, right here." She projected a map of the Badlands and zoomed on a location, revealing a small bazaar-city skirting the coast with a purple dot north of it, hugging the beach. "It will be a daring project, to say the least, which is why I'm so grateful for the support of other rulers that are willing to help make it a reality. Especially with how, like my school, this will be a country open to all species wishing to live under the banner of friendship."
"Which is why each ruler has given princess Twilight a gift as a show of good faith and gratefulness for all she has done." Celestia continued standing up and gaining every creature's attention with her eggshell white formal dress, golden crown, bracers, and gorget. "Seaquestria secured a landmass adjacent to the ocean for her to use with plenty of islands in her name, The Crystal Empire provided prime building material to construct a small city, Yackyackistan with weapons that I pray will never be needed, and so forth."
She glanced around the room, "And for Equestria’s part, as a show of good faith, we extend an invitation to all that are interested in accompanying princess Twilight in this voyage to become the first mayor or mayors of New Harmonious."
Eyes widened and murmurs start to spread. Everyone glanced at each other over such a statement, until Luna rose.
"Of course, the position would be voluntary," She stepped to the side and pointed to the notice board in the far corner of the room. "All who might be interested just need to put your names on the form. Princess Twilight will gladly listen to you and any condition or suggestion you may have about this project. However, before rejecting or accepting the invitation keep in mind that while this might be a huge ordeal to ask of you, if accepted, your names will pass down in history as the pioneers that aided in the formation of a brand-new country. The likes of which the planet has never seen before."
After a pause and some deliberation, Mark watched as some of the mayors stood and put their names on the candidate sheets, much to Twilight’s delight and relief. Soon after, the notion of becoming a mayor of a brand-new kingdom became the hot topic to discuss during the after-party. A party boasting a bar with hard drinks, a dance floor, a light show, and even a DJ for everypony present to enjoy.
"I'm telling you, Mark, it’s about more than just being a mayor. This job will turn whoever is chosen into her adviser. It’s only starting, and the Princess knows next to nothing about running a city, let alone a kingdom; she’ll need guidance." Cumulus, a dark blue pegasus stallion with a long grey mustache, stated confidently as he thumbed his silver vest. He hiked up his leg on the stool, his black trousers and mirror-shined shoes raised against the heel guard. He, Mark, and some other mayors were discussing the matter at the bar.
"No experience? What about when Discord's wacky roots kidnapped the princesses and threw everything into chaos? Princess Twilight sure knew how to run the place, then." Sentries, a younger earth pony with green fur and a brown patch on his right eye, argued back. He almost matched Mark in attire, wearing a similar suit with black pants and a white formal shirt.
"Run the place? yeah right. She issued ONE order, then flew back to Ponyville and solved the problem herself. Sure, it helped, but that’s not ruling. Or do you expect her to fill the role of guard, hero, princess, ambassador, and clean up all at once every time it happens? She needs to know how to delegate!" Cumulus fired back as other mayors join the conversation to agree with him. "The princess was right to ask for our help, she definitely will need somepony to show her the basics."
"Do you think she will leave her friends behind?" Spectral questioned, gaining everypony’s attention.
"I highly doubt it, I think all of them are going with." Braeburn, a yellow earth pony dressed as a sheriff stepped in, "Applejack’s my cousin and she told me about her planning on moving, now that Big Mac became the new head of the farm. Good for her if you ask me, we Apples love to spread our roots and that mare was born to make a farm of her own."
"I heard Rarity was planning on opening a new shop for her line of clothes, never imagined she meant to open it in a new kingdom." Another mayor mentioned.
"Fluttershy told me she was planning on expanding her sanctuary somewhere else, now that hers has grown too big." Tree Hugger added. "Plus, Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich announced their plans of opening their own bakery."
"I haven't heard much about the captain of the wonderbolts, but I don't think she’d just relinquish her job…right?" Cumulus pondered
"Knowing Rainbow Dash, she’ll probably seek a way to do both jobs." They all shared a chuckle, minus Mark who was deep in thought.
"Hey Mark, you’ve been oddly quiet." Braeburn called to him, "Something on your mind?"
With a sigh, Mark stopped playing with his cider and looked at the other mayors, "I hope it's just my imagination, but I fear the princess is ignoring one glaring issue that needs to be addressed before she tries to build a nation of her own."
"And what issue might that be?" Everypony turned and saw none other than Princess Celestia approaching the group with a calm demeanor. Immediately they began to bow but she stopped them by raising her hand, "Please raise my little ponies, you’ve done plenty of that. I'm only interested in finding a drink and if possible, joining your conversation." She approached the bar and pointed at the empty stool next to Mark. "May I?"
"Sure Princess, by all means," Mark answered.
Celestia took her seat and ordered a cup of wine, which the bartender brought to her seconds later. "So…you were saying something about a glaring issue?"
With a sigh, Mark looked down and nodded, "Yeah, ever since Twilight showed us where she was building her empire, I noticed something that got me worried." The other mayors flinch at how casually he referred to a princess but Mark ignored them and continued by drawing a crude sketch of a map on a napkin. "According to her, New Harmonious will be located northwest of a local bazaar in the Badlands. A place she and her friends have been familiar with ever since the Storm King invasion, right?"
"That is correct. I made sure there would not be a problem with neighboring kingdoms, and it's a free land for anypony to take."
"Which is the source of my concern. It wouldn't be a problem if it were just miles of land with nothing on it, but a community already there makes it a more dangerous place. Being ungoverned the community is a lawless place, so anyone living there is either a criminal, a fugitive, or a dealer in illegal merchandise…and Twilight is planning on having them as her neighbor?"
"Yeah, the same concern came to mind when she was seeking a piece of land." Celestia nodded and idly twirled her wine glass, "If it eases your worries, I made clear my concerns and objections to her settling down in such a dangerous place too."
"Then why is she still placing herself there?" Cumulus joined the conversation again, as Celestia chuckled.
"Because that is how Twilight is. She argued that Capper was like those individuals you were talking about, Mark, but it was enough just showing him a glimpse of friendship to change his ways. She believes she can do the same for the rest of the city, or rather she insists that creatures like those need friendship more than ever."
"Oh yeah, that makes sense." Various mayors concurred with her point, nodding their heads. Except for Mark.
"That only covers half the issue here, Celestia."
Once again everypony flinched at how informal he was treating the princess, even the alicorn was taken aback, but in her case, it was more for his sudden claim.
"Yeah, the place might be crawling with criminals, and something should indeed be done if they live in such tenuous conditions, but I'm afraid Twilight might be thinking of colonization without realizing the ramifications. I mean, what about the other creatures that just want to be left alone? What about those that just decided to live there because they aren't bad but for one reason or another don't want to live under anyone's rules? Or worse, what about those that don't exactly want to follow her teaching of friendship?"
"No one will be forced to do anything Mark, what Twilight is doing is simply offering her hand in friendship, at the end of the day it will be their choice to take it or not," Celestia argues back.
"And that is the glaring issue I meant, Celestia. She has to find a way to pass that point across leaving zero room for misinterpretation." Marks nodded once, decisively. "This project truly is bold, and it has the potential to not only raise a new empire but also bring a heavy blow to crime and corruption, but leave even one word vague and anyone can open a very big and nasty can of worms. Princess, I don't question your wisdom but how are you not seeing such a huge problem?"
For her part, Celestia only stares at him with a smile and lightly tilts her head to the side.
"Unless…you did." Mark answered himself with wide eyes as it suddenly dawned on him and the rest of the mayors, "You did and that’s why you offered the job as mayor to her kingdom, you knew Twilight would need someone to speak to the masses and smooth out any friction her plans may cause."
"Wow, talk about a plot twist!" Braeburn commented.
"Well done Mayor Mark, well done." Celestia lifted her cup to him, "It fills me with happiness finding others that can understand the reasons behind my actions. Looks like my vote was placed on the right candidate after all."
Recovering from the surprise, he can’t do anything else but smile and clank his drink with hers, "Celestia, you clever girl!"
"Please, you don't get to a thousand years of ruling without learning how to be clever!" She joked and smirked at him while enjoying her drink, "So what do you say Mark, would this be enough to put your mind at ease and help you relax for the rest of the evening?"
He smirked in return and stared at his empty glass, "I don't know, I might need just one more cup of cider and maybe a princess to accept a dance with me. That would help me loosen up."
"Well, I wouldn't be doing my job if I ignored my subject's pleas, right?" Celestia played along and called the bartender, "Ma'am, another round of drinks for my friends."
Everypony cheered at the princess and put away the topic of Twilight’s new kingdom to enjoy the party properly.
After Party, Warning Clop (GC, Edited By HP and PD Jr.)
With the moon rising on the horizon the party in the castle went into full swing with every mayor present enjoying the music, dancing, laughing and toasting for another year of prosperity throughout the land. Even the princesses got a piece of the action, dancing with abandon on the dance floor much to Mark’s amusement. He certainly didn't let that opportunity pass to take turns to dance with not only the princesses but any other mare that was close by. The fun everypony was having was so great that nobody realized how easy it was becoming to abandon decorum. The night started to become a blur for the human as he kept boisterously toasting virtually everything.
"No, I'm telling you, this guy and I were this close to becoming pincushions by a prickle of porcupines! Heh...prickle." Ocellus finished, retelling the story to Mark while hugging a royal guard griffin decked out in golden armor who shared her laugh.
"The Everfree forest, man, not even hedgehogs are safe to approach." The griffin commented.
"Oh Gallus, you’re always so funny!" Ocellus giggled, then started getting frisky, "Now, what do you say you share some love for your mayor."
She tried to kiss him but he pushed her away. "Ok, Ocellus, I think you’re drunk."
"Aw, come on Gallus, are y’gonna leave your friend hungry? Here you go, missy," Mark said, also slightly tipsy. Then he planted a strong kiss on the lips of the changeling who started laughing uncontrollably.
"There, and tell me if you need dessert," Mark declared as Ocellus kept laughing.
"You just jumped to the top of my celebrities list!" she told him.
Leaving them alone to their devices, Mark lost himself in the party once more until he was dancing closely with Spectral while hugging her from behind,
"Be honest Specty, are you genuinely intrigued, or do you really love to tease?" Mark asked her with a smirk.
"Will that change anything?" She enquired with some heat on her face, clearly drunk.
"Not really, I always had a thing for wings like yours." Mark pressed closer to examine them, "You don't have any idea how much I would like to caress these leather wings. I bet they’re softer than silk."
"Why don't you touch one and see?" She whispered back at him, blowing air into his ear as they both shivered and then laughed while staring into each other's eyes.
When the music changed Mark realized he was using the lap of Tree Hugger to rest his head.
"So Ms. Hugger, what does the aura on the dance floor look like now?” Mark asked her, “does it match the lights?"
"Oh no, the lights aren't as strong." Tree Hugger answered while looking down at him, the bodice of her dress partially blocking their shared gaze. Shaking his head and chuckling, Mark sat up.
"You poor thing; probably going blind right now if it’s that intense."
"Oh I'm fine, I'm used to them by now." Tree Hugger dismissed.
They shared a drink before leaning closer to one another.
"Tell me more about this soul-bonding deal. Is it exclusive to just two?" Mark asked her.
"Not at all, it can be with as many participants as you like," Tree Hugger replied, as she grabbed his hands, "My preference is when several females are circled around one single male."
"Something tells me I would love that experience." Mark asserted with a grin.
It was not long after that Mark was feeling the fatigue of the evening settling on him. He had progressively greater difficulty keeping track of who was in front of him as he currently conversed with 3 tall mares with wings.
"It always made me sad thinking how many nights you spend alone when I recall the story, you know…" Mark started to get bolder and took hold of a dark blue hand, hearing a feminine giggle from a blushing face, "...If you let me, I would be more than happy to keep you company."
********
Stumbling up to his house, Mark virtually kicked the front door open before he and a mare entered. Without even pausing their make-out session he closed the door and they tongue-wrestled their way into the bedroom.
"By the stars, this is wrong!" The mare told him but didn’t slow down as she hugged his face and continued kissing.
"So wrong!" Mark agreed while pinning her against the wall and lifting her up, grabbing hold of her soft flanks as she starts to moan.
"We should stop, we need to stop before it's too late. If somepony were to see us now…..."
"Yeah…scandalous would be an understatement," Mark concluded and then started to kiss her neck.
"Oh yes, that would be…that would be putting it lightly, we could get in so much trouble."
"Huge consequences here!"
"By all the gods, that’s what makes this so hot!" The mare yelled with complete abandon as she helped Mark remove her dress before helping him do the same with his shirt. Said articles of clothing got tossed onto the bed. Exploring each other's tongues, Mark removed his pants and was in the process of doing the same with his boxers when the mare stopped him.
"No! Let me…"
She sat him done on the bed and then knelt in front of him. She grabbed both ends of the elastic before deliberately and slowly removing the garment, taking a whiff of his erect mástil, ready for action, "...Oh… yes."
"You don't have to pretend," Mark murmured in a moment of self-consciousness and looked away in embarrassment, "I'm more than sure it's a dwarf compared to other StaAAAAALIons..."
He was surprised when the mare took hold of his dick and balls and started sucking and playing with them like a starving beast until she let go with a loud wet pop.
"Don't sell yourself short, honey. It's perfect, it's delicious and right now it's all mine!" She assured him and resumed her work, sucking with greater intensity and making Mark groan and hold the sheet to try not to scream. She then started to bobble her head up and down, alternating between her mouth and hand and even using her breasts to drive him over the edge.
"You like that, don't you?" she challenged him, "Yeah, you love my girls. Say it! Say you like them and come for me!"
"Oh, sweet merciful god! You're a goddess!" Mark yelled, unable to hold himself back anymore. He exploded over her face as she opened wide, taking a good chunk of his load over her teeth and tongue.
"Mmm, delicious!" she complimented him
Catching his breath he smirked at her, "Yeah, I bet you would say that, wouldn't you…bitch!" Getting lost in his lust he grabbed hold of her head and pushed it down on his crotch again.
"You enjoy blowing me right? You naughty mare, now clean it!" he demanded.
To his surprise the mare obeyed and when he grabbed a handful of her hair Mark heard her moan. Her tongue swirled around his shaft like the spin cycle of a washing machine. Mark pulled back on her hair, lifting her head slowly off his dick, and when she released it the shaft was completely clean and wet.
"Good girl!" He praised her before pulling her up onto the bed beside him. Laying her on her back he knelt down to return the favor.
"Your turn now!" He promised/threatened and grabbed hold of her panties. Licking his lips in anticipation he began to land soft kisses on her belly as he made his way south, earning small flinches and gasps from the mare.
She whimpered when her panties were removed and two fingers entered and opened her folds.
"Oh…o…OH! Wh-What are you doing? Oh Mark, no other stallion AGH!" she lost her voice as Mark began to feast on her petals.
"Wow, someone is this wet already, such a dirty mare you are. Like a whore in heat!" Mark taunted. Her walls immediately became wetter, making Mark chuckle, "Oh? Would you look at that, someone likes dirty talk, doesn't she!?"
He showed her his finger, completely drenched.
"Yeah you do, if your ponies could see you now,” Mark continued to tease her, both verbally and physically, “seeing such a proper and refined lady moaning like a wild animal from just being told how much of a cum dumpster she is in secret!"
She moaned as he started eating her out, one hand holding his head between her thighs while the other bunched up the sheets in a fist. Mark held his breath and dove deeper with his tongue, slashing relentlessly until he had to come up for air.
"By all that is sacred! Fuck me already!" she half shouted, half demanding with hearts in her eyes as Mark growled and pounced on the frantic mare, kissing her aggressively as she hugged his frame. He used his free hand to line up his dick while she spread her pussy for him. Maintaining the kiss, they stared into each other’s eyes and moan into each other’s mouths as Mark pushed inside of her. Rolling around like two wrestling beasts, Mark and the mare keep exchanging positions with complete abandon and no sign of wanting to slow down.
Slapping her ass, Mark licked his lips, getting more and more turned on with each moan the mare emitted.
"Even this turns you on? My god, you’re a pervert! Say it, say you like to be slapped!" he crowed.
"Y-Yes! Yes, slap me! Slap me harder, I'm a degenerate, I'm your personal cum dumpster, just please...Don't stop!!!" She cried out.
Mark lent down to suck on her massive breasts, enjoying the reward of her milk as she tenderly stroked his hair.
"Do I taste good?” she asked, “I always wondered how my milk would taste."
Smiling he grabbed the back of her neck and forced another strong kiss. She moaned as her eyes rolled back as she tasted herself on his lips.
He was quick to assure the mare of the quality, "It's sublime, I might get addicted to it if I'm not careful."
He grabbed one of her boobs, declaring, "But I can't stop, these soft pillows are just calling to me, begging me to drink, wanting me to play with them, pinch them, bite them."
He smirked at the mare, who shivered and then nodded in permission. Mark kissed her neck in thanks and gives her a strong hickey before taking another sip.
"Yes, yes grab me by my tail, give it a good yank! I have been such a bad mare!"
"You are whore,"
"Yes!"
"You are a bad mare,"
"Oh, I'm the worst!"
"You are such a dirty little bitch!"
"I'm the queen of bitches!"
The mare kept yelling obscenities as Mark took her doggy style, enjoying playing with her body, finding more and more places to tease, each bringing her to yet another orgasm. They both lost count of how many times they came, and the rest of the night turned into a giant blur filled with moans, screams, and wet slapping.
********
The next morning…
With a sigh, Mark slowly started to wake up and was about to hug the mare he spent the night with only to find nopony with him on his bed. Confused, he stared at the empty space beside him.
“Did I dream that?” He wondered out loud.
Realizing he was still naked and that his room was a mess with his clothes scattered everywhere the human got all the evidence that he needed. “Definitely not a dream and by god, what a woman!”
Sighing with pride and exhaustion, he lay in bed and took a moment to enjoy a sense of satisfaction before climbing out to start cleaning/looking around, hoping to find the mysterious mare, a letter, or something that would help him feel like last night wasn't some sort of mistake and he didn't take advantage of some innocent intoxicated mare.
Worse, as much as he tried to recall, all the mares he interacted with were mixing together, making it impossible to pinpoint exactly who was the lucky mare he brought home. Was it Spectral? Tree Hugger? One of the tall pegasus? Aagh! For all he knew, it could have been Ocellus turning into all of them!
For all his searching he could only find an earring left behind as his only lead, which he put into his jacket pocket to consider later, after work. Sighing in defeat, he accepted that the mystery would not be solved this morning and he hurried out of his home and off to work.
Reaching town hall, Drusilla was once again waiting for him with her trusty clipboard in hand.
"Good morning sir, how was your meeting last…?" She suddenly stopped talking and sniffed the air, confused. Mark was too depressed at the moment to notice.
"It went well, Drusy. Everything that one would have expected; a bunch of mayors discussing the usual stuff, the princesses bringing up important subjects, and a light party to lighten the mood. The usual." Mark told her nonchalantly.
"Oh ho ho, nice try, sir!" Drusilla suddenly appeared in front of him with a smirk, "You can't fool the nose of a mare!"
"What? Wha-What are you saying Drusy?"
Mark started to back away from the thestral as she advanced on him.
"I'm saying that a certain mayor really had fun last night," She accused.
"Wait what?! How did you know?! I took three showers this morning!" Mark exclaimed, sniffing his shirt.
"As I said, you can't fool a mare’s nose, sir," She taps her nose for emphasis, "And any stallion reeking of shampoo, perfume, or scented soap is more than a giveaway."
"I was wondering why so many ponies were high-fiving me on my way here…" Mark pondered in realization as Drusilla laughed and swept tears from her eyes.
"Such a rookie mistake. You need to treat mare pheromones like a skunk spray sir – only tomato juice and then a bath would cover your tracks." Drusilla helpfully explained to him.
He sighed in frustration, "And you’re just telling me this now," He muttered as he kept his head low and just approached his desk. He sat down in the faux leather chair with a gentle creak and stared at the desktop quietly. That was until he saw Drusilla on the other side of his desk with her elbows on it holding her excited face, "What?"
"Soo…who was the lucky mare? Should I be expecting a fruit basket soon, hmm?" She enquired teasingly.
"Come on Drusy, we’re on the clock." He reminded her with a deadpan look.
"Oh please, please, please! You can't let your best friend hang with something this juicy!" She begged before straightening up and pointing at him. "I told you how to get rid of the stench, you owe me at least a clue, sir!"
With a roll of his eyes, Mark let go of his breath.
"Fine one clue, the rest can wait till AFTER the job is done, deal?" he bargained.
"Deal!" Drusilla accepted and went back to her previous posture of looking at him with her elbows on the desk.
Smiling to himself, Mark looked away with a little blush, "She was a beast on the sheets."
"Ohhhh!?"
"This doesn't leave the office Drusy, I mean it. I'm telling you only because you’re my best friend, but…she was really into dirty talk."
"Oh ho ho, this is getting steamy! What else?"
He crossed his arms and gave her a deadpan look.
"What?! That is it!" Drusilla demanded.
Mark raised an eyebrow at her and with a smile pointed at her desk.
"After work." he declared.
"Sir, you are such a tease!" She sighed in defeat and returned to her paperwork in frustration.
"Said the mare that flashes me with her panties every other Tuesday," Mark mumbled to himself as he organized some zoning forms.
"I heard that!" Drusilla yelled from the other room.
Once Mark was settled, he picked up the earnings and pondered who the mysterious mare he was with last night was, why she left so soon, and the biggest question of all – wondering if he should or shouldn't seek her out. At the very least, return the earrings and thank her for an unforgettable night.
"Huh, and you’re sure you don't remember anything else from this mysterious mare?" Drusilla asked in concern as she and Mark enjoyed their break for lunch where, as promised, he told her everything that happened.
He sighed and shook his head and lamented, "Not that it matters, it was probably one nasty experience if she fled the moment she woke up and found out what happened."
He took out the earring and stared at it.
"Not even caring if she left something behind."
"Hey don't be so harsh or yourself dude, it probably wasn’t about you, specifically," Drusilla reasoned as she tried to lighten the mood a little, "Sure, it would be normal to panic if you don't have a recollection of what happened, and sure she could have been a bit more tactful when leaving, but chances are the same thing would have happened no matter who she slept with."
"Thanks, Drusy," Mark said as he smiled weakly, her speech helping him take some of the pain away, "that helps a little."
"Anytime, bro. If she wanted to pass up the chance to be with you, then it's her loss. If it were me, I’d throw that thing away and forget about the whole thing."
Drusilla sighed and leaned back on her chair before smirking, "But I know you better than that. This isn't over, am I right?" She guessed.
Mark could only chuckle awkwardly and rub the back of his head as he nodded and said, "Sorry Drusy, you know how much I hate leaving loose ends."
Drusilla sighed in frustration and looked down. "I know, once you make up your mind there’s no stopping you...you’re like a freaking bloodhound." She mumbled the last part mostly to herself as she looked away.
Mark was about to say something but she looked at him once more.
"So what's the plan then? Do you even have any idea who might be the lucky mare?"
"Actually, I do," The human replied almost immediately, "I might not know who exactly but I'm more than sure it was one of the three mares I flirted with last night."
"Not a bad start," she nodded once, "but what makes you so sure it was one of them?"
"Oh trust me Drusy, if anyone was interested in me it was them." Mark replied with confidence, "One was a free-spirit earth pony whose first words to me, if I understood correctly, were if I would like to sleep with her. Maybe she was inviting me to an orgy too?" he finished as his eyes widened in realization.
"Well if that’s the case then…yeah we got ourselves a whorse. I will schedule a doctor's appointment as soon as possible, better safe than sorry." Drusilla told him.
"Seriously?" Mark dead-panned at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You prefer to take your chances with Miss Open-legs then?" Drusilla challenged back.
"……just try to be discreet about it." Mark finally gave in and stared at the desk
"Consider it done,” Drusilla assured him, then pushed on, “Ok, that’s mare one, what about the other two?"
"The other was a flirty thestral who reminded me a lot of you, come to think about it." Mark continued.
"Should I be flattered or offended right now?" She asked him, with a playful scowl on her face.
"Oh, definitely flattered. This lady had a way with words and really loved to play the teasing game. She even managed to make me confess my love for a certain kind of wings."
"Liking her already," Drusilla nodded and closed her eyes, "now I’m torn between wanting her to be and not be at the same time. On one hand; a thestral just like me who only wanted to say 'thank you' in her own erotic way. On another; a cold bitch too scared to even leave a note for my best friend."
She shook her head in disappointment, "Anyway, that’s two down, what about the last one?"
"From what she told me, she’s the newest mayor of Ponyville,” Mark explained, “A sweet, kind little changeling that wanted my autograph the second she saw me, and didn't hide how much she admires me." Mark then looked away in shame, "And I took advantage of that by planting a kiss on her lips to 'feed her' some of my love," He grabbed his head and lamented, "God! That’s the one I'm scared of the most! The lady idolized me! And I simply betray her trust like that!"
"Hey, hey! We talked about this blaming game, Mark, none of that!" Drusilla said sharply, as she snapped her fingers in front of him, "And for the record, I really don't think she’s our mare."
"You think she wouldn't come to my house?" Mark asked her, confused
"Oh no, I totally believe that – classic lay-with-your-hero fantasy. I’m just saying if she was, chances are that she would have stuck around to savor every second of it, bouncing off the walls, making breakfast, or at the very least spooning you for dear life while on cloud nine. Trust me, I know about these things," Drusilla asserted.
"Or she panicked when she discovered that the celebrity she spent the night with was nothing but a…" Mark stopped himself when the thestral gave him a death glare, just daring him to finish that sentence, "I…I mean she panicked a little after realizing what she did and is now dying of embarrassment after showing me a side of her she didn't even know she had in the first place."
Drusilla kept staring at him before nodding, "Ok, I will give you that. It can be an option too. Anyone else?"
Mark closed his eyes, trying to recall anything else that might give him a clue, recalling the 3 tall pegasi.
"I…remember talking with 3 tall pegasi, too. Probably grabbed the hand of one and flirted a little but I can't recall which one. They said something about leaving early and…yeah that was the last I saw of them. Everything became a blur soon after and the next thing I recall was arriving home with the mare."
Drusilla considered as she said, "Hmm, better keep them as a maybe then."
"Man, I hope that’s not the case – the first 3 mares I'm sure didn't have any malicious intent, but the pegasi on the other hand are complete strangers."
"We can at least be sure they’re also mayors, so I don't think they were looking for dirt," Drusilla supposed, “I’ll ask for the guest list just to be sure. Don't worry bro, we’ll find her."
"Thanks, Drusy, even if it doesn't lead anywhere and she gets angry, I’ll track her down." Mark put the earring in the middle of the table. "At the very least I will have peace of mind when I give this back."
"Yeah…that might be an awkward exchange" Drusilla confessed as she poked the piece of jewelry.
"Why?"
"Well for starters this isn't an earring," She told him and flips it, revealing a hook-shaped needle on the back, "earrings have a straight needle on them, this is a piercing"
"Oh boy, and if this came loose from our activities…yeah, ok now I see what you mean," Mark grimaced at the implication.
At that moment, Mark’s alarm went off, signaling the end of their break.
"Welp, back to work sir. Better put all this on pause for now." Drusilla went back into professional mode as she finished her food and stood up. Mark nodded and followed her example as he put the piercing back in his pocket.
"Understood, so what’s next on the agenda, Ms. Drusilla?" Mark asked as he re-tightened his tie.
"You have a meeting with Princess Celestia to discuss the street repair budget in ten minutes," his secretary replied.
"Are my papers ready?"
"Organized and in your briefcase," came the assurance.
"Perfect, then let's not keep the princess waiting."
After collecting his briefcase and a short walk the two arrive once more at the entrance to the palace, where two guards escorted them to the meeting room.
"Do you smell that?" Drusy suddenly commented when something in the air caught her nose.
"Yeah, it smells like…tomato?" Mark pondered as they sniffed the air.
"My apologies," Celestia’s voice reached them as she appeared from the adjacent corridor, wearing something different than her regular attire. Instead of her usual pure white formal dress, she was wearing a long pink skirt with a brown belt, a light yellow shirt with puffy sleeves, and, oddly enough, a black frilly choker around her throat. Her mane was also pulled up in a ponytail instead of waving freely as it would normally be.
"This morning I wanted to request the staff make a lasagne for me and Luna, and by accident one of the chefs spilled some tomato sauce on me," she informed them, then looked at her ensemble, "I hope you don't mind this look, Mr. Mark. I could try to find something more formal if you would grant me a couple of minutes."
Mark shook his head and raised a hand to assure her, "It’s ok Ce…" the guards and Drusilla glared at him in time for the human to correct himself and clear his throat, "My apologies, can't help it at times. What I meant to say is, don't worry, you don't need to change for me. I understand completely. Besides with how that injury looks," He pointed at the bandage poking out from under her left sleeve a little until Celestia hid it once more, "the last thing I want is to aggravate anything. Was that where the pot hit you?"
"Y-Yeah it was there," Celestia quickly affirmed as she looked down briefly. She then smiled at the human before continuing, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Mark. Don't worry, this is nothing. I will be better in a couple of days"
"Glad to know. The smell isn’t a bother either, though I might ask for some of that lasagne if the meeting drags on."
Celestia chuckled a little at the comment, "I will see what I can do. So shall we begin?" She pointed into the meeting room where a white earth pony stood, patiently waiting with a clipboard in hand. On her snout were big square glasses, and her long black mane was combed into a beehive. She was wearing a yellow formal suit similar to Drusilla’s, but with a red scarf around her neck.
"Sure, let's start," Mark agreed as the group entered and the thestral found her place next to the earth pony, who nodded at her.
"Drusilla."
"Inkwell. How’s everything in the castle?" Drusilla greeted Raven Inkwell in return.
Raven shrugged as she replied, "Same old, can't complain. How is everything in the town hall?"
"Similar, but there might be paperwork that needs a seal of approval." She replied with a smirk, that Inkwell copied, understanding the code.
"Really now? If that's the case, I would be more than happy to assist once I finish my shift."
"Thank you."
Taking a seat, Mark opened his briefcase and was about to begin when Celestia stopped him.
"Oh, and one last thing, after the meeting do you mind taking a moment to discuss a sensitive topic?" Celestia requested before turning to the secretary, "It involves the assembly last night, so it kind of needs to be private."
"Oh of course your highness,” Mark said quickly, “I'm sure we can spare a couple of minutes, Ms. Drusilla could you move…"
"Already on it sir." Drusilla interrupted him and wrote things down on her clipboard, before taking out a small, square stone tablet from her pocket, using it like a phone to send various messages. "Done."
"Thanks Ms. Drusilla."
With that issue settled, the rest of the meeting came and went without a hitch. Once it was done and the secretaries left the room, Princess Celestia let out a sigh and turned to Mark.
"Now onto more sensitive topics. Mr. Mark, about the events that happened yesterday, more specifically the party after the meeting."
Mark felt his nerves pick up and he gulped as she sat in front of him. She folded her hands and asked, "How much do you recall?"
"Isn't that kind of a personal question, your highness?" Mark chuckled nervously, wondering how forthcoming he could, or even should, be.
"It sure is" Celestia agreed immediately with closed eyes before staring at him neutrally, "Unfortunately due to a series of events I was informed transpired last night I must ask these questions."
"What sort of 'events' exactly?" Mark questioned, hoping his misconduct wasn’t about to be laid out before him.
"Missing or blurry pieces of memories, lack of inhibition, extreme behavior, among others," She started to list off, "Didn't you notice how our harmless party started to escalate in some bizarre way?" She finished, keeping her voice neutral.
"Wait so it wasn't just me then?" Mark asked, trying to hide his shock.
She sighed in disappointment before nodding, "I’m afraid not. So then I guess you were also affected. For that, you have my deepest apologies as well as my word that this will not see the light of day. You will, of course, be compensated handsomely," She brought her hand to her chest and kept her gaze low in shame.
"Compensated!?" Mark exclaimed with more volume than he intended, "Your highness what exactly happened last night? Last I recall, I invited you to dance with me and other mayors, and then…" he paused and his cheeks heated up as Celestia waited for him to continue. "…everything became a blur, with a couple of lucid memories here and there. In all of them, I became flirtatious for no reason...and I feared I came on too strong with some of the mares."
Celestia nodded calmly and waited for him to finish venting before asking him to take a seat once more, "It is what one would have expected due to the nature of the drug that was mixed into our drinks."
"Drug?!" Mark repeated in alarm as she raised her open hand to calm him.
"Don't worry, medically speaking it is relatively harmless, yet quite emotionally manipulative,” Celestia told him as she looked away with a scowl, not hiding her disappointment and anger one bit. “I have reason to believe that a member of the upper class decided to use it in an attempt to harm your public image."
Sighing in annoyance, Mark looked down and nodded, finally understanding what was happening.
"I gather it was one of the nobles displeased by the idea that Canterlot has a mayor that isn't a unicorn, am I right?" He questioned.
"Unfortunately so," Celestia confirmed his suspicion with a single nod.
“Was this the work of Snake Eye?” he speculated.
"That was my first guess,” Celstie replied, “but he is still in his cell and I assure you other than a trusted guard to bring his meals he has zero contact with the outside world. The investigation is still ongoing, but from what my team has been able to gather, our drinks were spiked with a variation of a very old type of potion called Love Poison."
"Don't you mean Love Potion?" Mark corrected with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I meant what I said,” Celestia explained to him, “a terrible poison that led to the ruin of a kingdom in the past. Whoever drinks it becomes obsessed with the first creature of the opposite sex they lay their eyes on. Once, a king and queen were served that, and from then on they were completely unable to run their city as the only thing they could do all day was stare at each other's eyes. This potion worked similarly, but not as potent,"
"So that’s why I was acting so out of character then?" Mark asked.
"We all were, don't worry. If I were to name this potion it would be something like Numb Inhibitions or the Flirting Potion. Once consumed we all started to get very relaxed, lose touch with reality, speak our minds, and…well, you experience the rest first hand." Celestia said, her voice trailing off into a sigh.
Mark sighed as well, looking down.
"Yeah, everything makes sense now," he said quietly, mostly to himself.
"So you understand why I must insist on asking these questions, right?” Celestial pressed on, “Whoever was responsible may have wanted to set you up, and expose a less-than-ideal image of you in particular, not caring who else would get in the way. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they try have spin it around, claiming you were the one responsible in the first place. Everything will be confidential of course, but for me to map this clearly I must make sure of how much you recall."
"Before I tell you, how exactly do you know this was an attack on me only?" Mark wanted to know.
"Because ever since this morning the castle was in a panic, questioning the events of last night. It was a perfect setup to gather some pictures yet the only arrest my guard made was of a photographer that was following you when you left the castle. He was the one that confessed to the plan, but doesn't know who gave him the tip of a potential scandal." Celestia answered.
"Yeah, that clarifies things," Mark sighed and leaned back on his chair, "and complicates them at the same time."
"How so?"
"With regard to the party, I already told you most of what I know, except the names of 3 mares I recall flirting with clearly; Mayors Spectra, Ocellus, and Tree Hugger. I also flirted with 3 very tall pegasus, but the next memory I have gets more…personal" He explained with some heat on his cheeks, "Now I get why I could recall clearly what I did but don't have a recollection of with whom, but your highness…I took a mare home with me."
"Y-You did?" Celestia couldn't hide the shock in her voice. She cleared her throat in embarrassment as the heat started to rise on her own face, "Are you sure you don't remember who this mare was?"
Mark shook his head, "That’s what I want to find out too. I have a very strong feeling it was one of the mayors I spent the night with but that’s it." Then he had a thought, "But maybe you might know, Princess. Did your guards spot one of the mayors returning to the castle?"
"Many; all of them brimming with questions, but not all mayors spend the night here. Some took a room at a nearby hotel." she explain with disappointment, "I'm sorry, Mark."
Mark deflated a bit before perking up again as another idea occurred to him, "What about that photographer you said followed me? They must have seen who it was.” The excitement of solving this question was building up in him again.
Celesia frowned for the briefest of moments before she contemplated what he said.
“Perhaps,” She conceded, “though the only photograph found on him by the guards was thankfully too blurry to make anything out. He is being held in the guard barracks for further questioning until we decide what to do with him.”
“Even so, he would have seen her and can maybe give a recognizable description or even a name.” Mark continues.
“If you think so I'll arrange some time for you to talk with him, though I doubt he’s the kind to give up such information cheaply,” Celesta warned him.
“True, but now, at least, I understand better why she left without so much as saying goodbye."
"I'm sure she was as scared as you for what transpired and had her reasons to bail like that," Celestia reassured him, nodding a couple of times.
"Yeah, you’re right. Still, I hope it will be ok for me to approach her to apologize and explain the situation"
"There’s no reason for that, Mark, I have been going around to all Mayors explaining the situation. Everypony agrees that what happened was something out of their control." Celestia tried to assure him.
"Still, it would be the chivalrous thing to do. I don't want her to feel like I only used her or vice versa because of a lust-inducing drink, and besides, I need to return this." Mark insisted as he showed her the piercing.
Celestia immediately recognized what type it was and flinched.
"Oh my…well, that seems very noble on your part. I only hope you will be tactful about it. In fact, if you wish, I could aid you. Why don't you give me that piece of jewelry and if I come across said mare, I will give it to her myself." She offered as she extended her hand but Mark shook his head and put it away.
"Thanks, but this is something I should do in person."
At that moment there is a knock on the door, "Mr. Mayor are you done? Not wanting to pressure you or anything, but we are running late"
"Coming, Ms. Drusilla, we are wrapping up here anyway." Mark called back before looking at Celestia, "Well it looks like our time is up. Thank you so much for helping clear the air Ce…I mean Pri…"
Celestia stood up and raised her hand, "You can call me by my name when we are alone, all my friends do." She gave him a small wink to help him relax.
"Thank you, Celestia, if there is anything else I can do to help the investigation, please let me know."
"I'll keep it in mind. Until then, have a nice day."
"You too."
Mark waved goodbye and left the room. Celestia waved back until the doors were closed.
“I hope wherever that was about went well.” Drusilla promoted Mark as they started down the hallway.
“It was a mixed bag.” Mark replied, “Mostly about the incident last night. Turns out…...”
He paused as a maid turned the corner into the hallway in front of them. He maintained his silence as the maid continued past them. She offered a slight curtsy and received a smile in return from the pair. When She was far enough away Mark continued, this time in a lower voice. “Turns out the whole lot of us got drugged by something to make us act strange.” After Drusilla’s gasp, he added, "The princess believes it was a plot to discredit me by showing a degenerate image to the public.”
“Wha..? Who?” Drusilla demanded indignantly, her voice rising again.
“Later,” Mark assured her quietly, “For now, we know this because a photographer was caught. Only one photographer. Who followed me when I left the party.”
“So it was definitely a set-up,” Drusilla growled before her face changed to surprise as she caught on to where Mark was leading, “wait they would have seen who you left with, they can solve this riddle for us right now.”
“Exactly, so we have two stops to make before we get to the office.” Mark asserted.
“Two?” Drusilla asked.
“Yeah. Gonna need some leverage when we ask this creep for the information.”
Hunt For The One Night Stand Mare (Edited By R76, PD.Jr And HP)
Around an hour later Mark and Drusilla arrived in the guard barracks, where the photographer was being detained. The pony in question was calmly reading a book while seated on the bed when they were escorted to his cell and did not bother to look up when he heard the door open.
"You’re wasting your time if you want anything else from me, I was just looking for an exclusive. I know my rights, and you can't keep me for just being curious. You can’t pin anything on me so we both know I’m not going to be here for any longer than 24 hours. Why don’t you do us both a favor and let me out now. I might even consider not writing about this unwarranted imprisonment by the royal guard."
"Impressive," Mark whistled in amusement, "That almost sounded rehearsed."
"If you’re gonna skirt the law you might as well know it, right sir" Drusilla commented.
Their voices finally caught the unicorn’s attention and he turned to look at them. He was a fairly simple brown earth pony with a dark brown trench coat and fedora.
"Well now, this is an unexpected turn. What brings you here, Mr. Mayor?" The photographer asked with a smirk.
"I was hoping we could have a little chat, Mr. Kodak," Mark told him, "and depending on your answers, you might get something better than the picture you took."
"Oh! An interview! Now we’re talking!" Kodak stood eagerly and approached the two. "So Mayor, care to tell me why you’re bringing drunken mares to your home? That doesn't sound like the thing a wholesome, herd-orientated public servant would do." He finished with a leer at them both, bouncing his eyebrows.
"Not so fast, Kodak.” Drusilla halted his approach, “Before we do anything else you will have to sign this privacy agreement, stating that nothing we discuss here leaves this room.”
She held up a contract and a pen for him to see.
"Not interested." Kodak turned away and dismissed the two, "You know when the door is..."
"...and in exchange for your cooperation, I will reveal some juicy gossip discussed in the Meeting of Mayors. Information that won’t be announced publicly for a good while...which I have received permission to reveal to you."
That froze the photographer in his tracks.
“So, what do you say Mr. Kodak? Do we have a deal?"
Kodak remained quiet for a brief moment before rushing in to sign the papers, without even bothering to look at them. "Deal. There. My signature. Now, out with the data!"
"You first. Tell us exactly who you saw leaving my home this morning."
"To be honest I couldn't see much," Kodak confessed sheepishly, "I spent most of the night trying to find a good angle while staying hidden and working under a rainstorm on top of that. Bravo by the way, how the hell did you keep moving so fast everywhere while drunk?"
"Not important, keep going," Mark ordered him.
"Well, with the rain, your constant movement, and me trying not to draw too much attention, getting an open shot was virtually impossible. When you got to your house I was stuck with what to do. Truth be told I wish I’d thought to bring my recorder as well, ‘cause stallion, I learned more about your kinks last night than anyone would be comfortable knowing.” Kodak paused again to chuckle, which ended in a soft ‘eep’ when Mark growled at him, showing sharper teeth than the reporter was probably used to seeing.
“S-So anyway,” He nervously continued, “I decided to hide behind some dumpster until you two took a breather and, before I realized, I had fallen asleep. It wasn't until a loud thud woke me up that I saw the mare leaving your house, but in my drowsiness and because it was still too damn dark, I couldn't make anything out. I tried to capture at the very least a quick picture but my flash was on and the light reveal my position. I hid again, begging that she either didn't realize it or was startled enough to run away."
He showed them a bruise on his face, just under his left eye. "Next thing I know I felt someone grab the side of my head from over the dumpster and lift me. I freaked out and thought it was someone mugging me, so I swung out blindly. My fist hit someone, and I heard a mare gasp. Next thing I know a fist connected with the side of my face and then everything went dark – I still feel woozy by the way. By the time I woke up again, I was already here, with my camera destroyed and only a blurry picture I managed to hide before that crazy chick knock me out." he finished in frustration, “Now tell me, who was she? I understand breaching privacy but knocking me out cold seems extreme."
Mark could only shake his head, "I don't know either, everything on that night from when the party began was a blur, I was hoping you might have a clue.” He could see the pony’s reluctance and pressed on, “Did you recognize any detail about this mare? Did she have wings or a horn?"
"Well, I can say she was definitely on the tall side and I think I remember long hair. But as I said, I'm still dizzy so I could be remembering wrong. Other than that I don't know anything else."
Mark stared at Kodak for a long moment as the stallion rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
Eventually, Kodak said, “Sooo, I told you what I know, how about that tidbit from the meeting...”
“Really?!” Drusilla cut in, “You told us nothing beyond how bad of a reporter you are.”
“Hey!” Kodak shot back.
Before he could continue Mark raised his voice, “Fine, something for something. Princess twilight made an announcement that’s going to change the political dynamic of both Equestria and the Badlands.”
He cut off as the reporter continued to look at him, expecting more. When nothing else was said, Kodak asked, “is that it?”
When Mark said nothing more, Kodak pressed, “Well, there has to be more, what was the announcement?”
“What was the mare's identity?” Mark countered.
“I can’t tell you.” Kodak ground out in frustration.
“Same,” Mark replied.
He turned from the cell and walked away with Drusilia following quietly, and behind them they could hear a stream of frustrated pony-sounds.
“For a moment I thought you were going to tell him everything,” Drusilla said to Mark as they left the barracks.
“If he had told me who she was I may well have,” Mark replied, “but if I get almost nothing, then so does he.”
“No almost there, sir.” Drusilla snorted, “He gave you nothing at all.”
“He did let us know that the mare would be strong enough to punch him out in a single hit,” Mark replied.
“With respect, sir, I could punch that weed out in a single blow, He looks like his mother never fed him a full meal in his life.” Drusilla scoffed.
Mark Chuckled at that observation. “Point, I suppose.”
********
Humming a small tune under her breath Drusilla tapped the edge of her table while waiting for her friend at a local coffee shop. Rather than the formal attire she had changed into a pair of black jeans and boots, with a leather jacket. The jacket was opened to reveal a white shirt with a red circle in the middle. This shirt was one of her favorites since the circle was just the right size to contour and accentuate her modest bust.
The chime of the bell at the front door caught her attention and she smiled and waved over to Raven. In contrast to Drusilla’s minimal colors, Raven was wearing a long, light blue skirt and light yellow shirt. In her hand was a small blue purse and her long black mane spilled down over her back.
"So sorry for being late, Drusy." Raven apologized as she sat down at the table across from the thestral. "The royal chef caught me on the way here, and well, you know how that stallion loves to gossip."
"Yeah, tell me about it. I tell you, that guy seriously needs to get laid and stop putting his nose in everyone else’s business." Drusilla complained with an eye roll.
"By the way, I'm dying to tell you who the Captain of the Royal Guard is dating these days." Raven excitedly continued.
"Oh, sounds juicy, but me first!" Drusilla cut in with equal excitement as the waitress arrived and took their orders.
Once the waitress left Drusilla continued, "Ok, do you remember the Mayor of Blossom Sprints? Mayor Tree Hugger?"
"Yeah?"
"Confirmed, total whorse."
"NO!"
"I'm telling you my contact confirmed it. The first thing she does after meeting him…she tells him she’s open to a roll on the hay."
"Oh wow, you think you know a mare. Hand on my heart, I swear I thought that mare was too innocent to even know what the word sex means."
"Told you, a free spirit and relaxed disposition doesn't mean she’s naive."
"And what did your contact do?"
"Ha, what do you think? He gently declined and moved on."
"Ok, me next!" Raven started, "I know we usually go with softballs first, but, by Faust, I'm just dying to tell you this one!" She was almost bouncing on her chair.
"Oh, really?" with her interest peaked, Drusilla leaned forward, "tell me, what’s new in the castle?"
"Two things actually, starting with Princess Luna," Raven replied.
"Oh Faust, what did she do this time?"
"The better question would be who."
That caught Drusilla’s attention and she slowly shook her head, "No."
"Looks like her dry spell is finally over. Remember how I told you how there were rumors of Princess Luna having a crush on somepony recently?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"Well, this morning some guards swear they saw the princess skipping through the hallways, positively glowing and smelling of tomato juice as she headed to her chambers."
"Oh ho ho! Go, Princess Luna. Any idea which stallion or mare got lucky?"
Raven shook her head, "You know how reserved Princess Luna is. Some speculate it was one of her guards and they took advantage of the assembly to sneak out and have some fun. That’s why it took so long for the guards to intervene and prevent things from escalating further among the mayors. By the time everypony was restrained and Princess Luna put everypony to sleep, her stud returned to his mare and they both disappeared into the night."
"She’s seeking a herd?!" Drusilla whisper-shouted in shock and Raven hissed to keep her voice down.
"Remember you didn't hear it from me," Raven cautioned.
"Of course, but geez, sounds intense." Drusilla whistled back in surprise.
"Not as intense as what happened to Princess Celestia." Raven continued, getting Drusilla's attention again as her friend smirked and leaned forward.
"You didn't hear it from me," Raven reminded her as she glanced around to make sure nobody was nearby to hear them, "but there is a rumor that princess Celestia entered a fight club."
"Oh, ho, ho! Now you did it, girl. This I need to hear in detail." Drusilla crowed, making Raven hiss intensely at her. Drusilla clapped her hands over her mouth in apology as Raven scowled at her.
“Really, what’s gotten into you today? If you’re going to be like this you can wait till later to hear.” Raven admonished.
“I’ll be good.” Drusilla squeaked between her fingers.
Raven accepted her apology and continued, "Ok, I heard from a maid, who heard from the chef, who heard from a patrolling guard that in the middle of the night, while the mayors were having their little party, Princess Celestia snuck out of the castle to the main city and didn't return until dawn….And when she did, her clothes were all sweaty and loose…And she had bruises all over her body and half of her face was slightly red and swollen. In fact, that is why she had that bandage on her shoulder. She is bandaged on the whole left side of her chest. I even heard somepony gave her a nasty scratch right on the nipple!"
Both mares winced and subconsciously rubbed their own breasts. "
Nothing a well-placed healing spell, bandages, and some creams can't solve, but still, that is one nasty injury." Raven continued.
The thestral nodded and stared down at the table, still processing the information. "Wow, you think you know a pony, am I right?"
"Can you truly blame her?"
Their food arrived and once the waitress left, Raven lifted her cup. "I keep telling you, behind closed doors, she’s no different than you and me. Besides, after spending 8 hours in boring meetings and having to maintain the appearance of a noble and composed princess, anypony would become a thrill seeker. I’ve seen her without the mask, and believe it or not, Princess Celestia can be a bit childish at times, even tomboyish. Sure, she’s still feminine and has the decorum we know, but she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty either."
"Agreed, I bet that mare has one heck of a left hook too," Drusilla commented and both of them laughed at her joke.
"Ok, now your turn, how have things been going working in Town Hall?" Raven demanded.
"Oh, ho, ho! Girl, do I have a doozy of a story for you as well," Drusilla smirked and leaned forward. "You didn't hear it from me, but Mark got lucky after the meeting."
"Oh wow! Go, Mark! Tell me, who was the lucky girl?"
"Sorry Inky, best bud code; can't tell," Drusilla shook her head, but smirked, "but I can tell you this, he caught himself a freaky one."
"Oh, really? How freaky?" Raven smiled widely, now invested in the story. "Are we talking about dirty talk freaky, or straps and leather freaky here?"
"I’d say 'slap me hard and call me a whorse’ freaky.'"
"No!"
"Heck yeah, he hit the jackpot there, girl."
"How are we sure she wasn't the one that rocked his world instead?" Raven asked with a smirk.
"Mark? Nah, I know him better than that. He might have a heart of gold, but you get him going and he will pounce on you like a wild animal."
"You seem very sure about this, Drusy, is there something you’re not telling me?" Raven asked with a raised eyebrow.
Smiling, Drusilla beckoned Raven to come closer until she was close enough to whisper in her ear.
"You’ll never know." She teases then licked Raven’s ear, making her flinch and back away as her friend laughed.
"Damn it, Drusy!" Raven laughed too and cleaned her ear, "Mark is right, you really are the queen of teasing."
"Don’t you ever forget it."
"But come on girl you two are perfect for each other. You sure you don’t want to make it official and ask him out?"
"Nah, I'm not ready for a relationship yet." She dismisses the idea. "Besides, it’s way funnier and hotter just teasing and playing the ‘will they or won’t they’ game to screw with everyone."
She took a sip of her drink, "Plus, Mark has his eyes set on the mystery mare."
"And you are ok with letting him go like that?" Raven asked in genuine concern.
"Who knows, maybe? Maybe I'm the one looking? Maybe this is a package deal?"
She grabbed raven’s hand, "Would that make you jealous, dear?" Drusilla winked and slowly kissed the air at Raven until she pulled back her hand.
"Ok, Drusy, cut it out." she admonished.
"Oh Inky, sometimes you’re just too easy." she sighed, "but all jokes aside, there is a reason why my boy has his eyes on her."
"And why is that?"
"After they were done, she bailed, and because Mark is the way he is, of course he couldn't let that be the end of things. So we’re looking for her."
"Looking for her? He remembers what he did but doesn't know with whom he slept?" Raven asked, confused.
Drusilla could only shrug, "They were both weird drunk last night."
"Oh my, just like the…the mayors!" Raven’s eyes wide "He slept with one of the mayors!?"
It was Raven’s turn to clap her hands over her mouth as Drusilla glared at her. Drusilla Held her glare for a moment longer before a smile twitched at her lips and she looked away.
"I didn't say anything like that, now did I." She finished with a sidelong wink.
"Wow, now thismakes things all the more worrisome.” Raven muttered, “This is exactly the sort of thing the royal guards were trying to prevent. What would the press say if they found out?"
"Which is why this doesn't leave the table, Inky," Drusilla warned her.
"Your secret dies with me," Raven promised.
"Good, because I'm gonna need help tracking her down. We don't know which mare it was, but my boy has a list of suspects. What do you say I let you in on who she could be in exchange for some info?"
"But of course, it’d be nice to help sort out some of the fiasco from last night. The drug certainly did a number on everypony and nopony was measuring their drinks. I’m noble enough to want to help Mr. Mark find some closure on this matter.” Raven commented, finishing with a haughty tone.
Then her eyes flashed wickedly as she leered, “Plus I want to know which of the mayors is a freak in the sheets.”
"I knew that would get your interest." Drusilla smirked and passed over a couple of papers, "Ok here is the list I got…"
********
The Next Day
Tapping his foot, Mark looked around the restaurant while waiting for his date to arrive. Opting to go with a semi-formal outfit, Mark had picked out a simple short-sleeve red button-up shirt, formal pants, and running shoes.
"Calm down, Mark." Drusilla told him over his earpiece while she observed him from another table on the opposite side of the restaurant, "Remember, they can smell it if you’re nervous.”
Mark picked up his phone and pretended to be on a call. "I know that, but it’s just dawning on me that there may be no way to avoid this conversation being awkward, even though I just want to clear the air."
"I tried to warn you, Mark." He could hear her chuckling from the other side, "Too late to pull out now so you will have to soldier through and get this over with. Who knows, maybe if you play it right you might get another round."
"Drusy!"
"What? Don’t act like you don't want that." Drusilla challenged.
"Well yeah but I…and…ack, it’s complicated." Mark sputtered in reply.
"Relax, tiger. You’re a catch, so just relax and go with the flow.” his friend reassured him, “Your wingmare is right here with you if you need advice."
"Thanks, Drusy."
Then Drusilla’s voice became serious, “Ok, look alive, here she comes."
Straightening, Mark looked to the entrance of the restaurant just in time to see Ocellus walk in. Unlike their first encounter, she carried herself with a much more cheerful disposition. Instead of her formal attire, she was wearing a more casual outfit: a slightly loose white shirt with an orange dot on the front, some worn-out jeans, a dash of lipstick, and the same purse she had during the meeting. As she turned her head to scan the restaurant, Mark noticed a hickey on her neck. His eyes went wide as he remembered leaving one during his session, too.
As soon as Ocellus spotted him, she waved and approached him with a big grin plastered on her face.
"Mayor Mark, so sorry for the delay.” She apologized, “I got sidetracked with a friend on the way here."
"It's ok, it hasn't been all that long anyway. I haven't even ordered anything yet." Mark replied easily.
"Oh, great, because I could really use a bite and there is something I have been dying to tell you," Ocellus informed him as she took a seat and scanned the menu for options.
"That’s great, there’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss as well. It might involve that love bite you’re sporting there." He pointed at her neck, and she immediately covered it as she blushed and giggled nervously. Though, her cheerful demeanor never vanished.
"Oh, this? Don't worry about it." She dismissed the bite, before leaning closer, "If your topic also involves the mayor’s party, we should probably keep our voices down. You know, sensitive issue and all that."
"Agreed," Mark responded with a nod.
Once the waiter came and took their order Ocellus didn't waste time on starting the conversation. "If it's ok with you, may I go first?"
"Sure, go ahead," Mark replied.
"Thanks, because I've been dying to tell you this. Mark, seriously, I can't thank you enough for last night!" she gushed, and then surprised him as she slid around the booth to gently hug him.
"Ah, your…welcome?" He pat her back twice before she released him.
"Yona and Silverstream kept telling me to never meet your heroes – that it never ends well – but they were wrong. You were so nice to me and lifted one huge weight off my shoulders." Ocellus continued.
"I did? Wow, Ocellus I…I didn't realize you had these kinds of feelings." Mark smiled lightly, letting her vent her hype.
"Me neither,” she exclaimed back, “and while it was scary finding that it all happened because some pony decided to spike our drinks, I want to see the good that came from it."
"I'm glad to hear you’re taking this so well Ocellus, really. That sort of thing requires a hugely positive outlook on life." Mark congratulated her and then looked away in embarrassment, "So, I suppose you are not angry at me for well…taking advantage of you?"
"Advantage? Oh, that! Water under the bridge,” Ocellus dismissed easily, “we both weren't exactly thinking straight last night, right? Words were said, mistakes were made, and intentions exposed. We can all be adults here and put all of this behind us."
"Wow, I’ll give her this, your little changeling knows how to not let things bring her down." Drusilla complimented, watching everything unfold.
"Agreed," Mark nodded, reaching for the jewelry he had kept, "and since there are no hard feelings…"
But, before he could fully withdraw it from his jacket Ocellus interrupted him and continued her rambling with a blush as she grabbed her cheeks, "I mean, it might not be exactly as romantic as I would have wanted, but it turns out that one kiss was all the incentive Gallus needed to finally be honest with himself."
"What?" Mark’s hand froze before he revealed the jewelry and Drusilla confirmed his suspicions.
"Abort, abort! She's not our girl, bro." Her voice hurriedly came through his earpiece.
Mark faked a laugh and kept staring at Ocellus who hadn’t noticed his sudden movements as he put the jewelry back. "How do you know?" He asked both mares at the same time.
"That hickey’s not yours dude, it’s a diamond shape. Only beaks can leave that type of mark." Drusilla explained.
"Well for starters, after watching us kiss, Gallus finally had enough and dragged me to the balcony where we had a discussion under the pretext that I was getting too carried away. Things started to heat up and then finally he got the courage to confess not only how he was jealous, but also in love with me!" Ocellus recounted the story with closed eyes and sighed dreamily at the memory.
"Wow, talk about surprises," Mark commented neutrally.
"Oh, I knew it for quite some time now." Ocellus opened one eye at Mark with a smile and pointed at her nose. "Changeling, remember? I was simply waiting for him to admit it and when he saw how others might be interested, he found the courage to do so. That night we made things official, and well…I wouldn't be able to be here if it wasn't for your actions! Seriously Mr. Mark, thank you!" She hugged him once more as he chuckled and pat her back, "I wanted to say this sooner, but by the time Gallus and I came back you were chatting with Princess Celestia at the bar, and I didn't want to intrude."
"Don't mention it."
"Oh my, where are my manners!" Ocellus let go and fanned herself briefly, "here I'm rambling about me like a parrot, without even asking about your day. Tell me, Mr. Mark, what did you want to talk about?"
Mark did his best to keep his smile friendly instead of relieved, "Mostly…I just wanted to clear the air and apologize for, well, kind of force-feeding you love. Not gonna lie, part of me was fearing I would leave here with a slap in the face." he admitted.
"I see, then I'm happy to tell you that’s not gonna be the case then. Here, why don't we have a toast," She lifted her cup, "to happy accidents!"
"To happy accidents," Mark repeated and they click their cups as they enjoy the rest of their lunch.
"One down," Drusilla said to herself as she marked Ocellus' name from her list, "two to go."
********
"…So as you can see, even if I have the perfect excuse of blaming my actions on a drink, I would prefer to clear the air and apologize for anything inappropriate I might have said…or done." Mark finished his explanation to Tree Hugger, taking occasional glances at the pony in question. His assistant kept her eyes firmly on her clipboard with an intense glare, mentally promising to give her contact an earful when she saw them again.
Finding the mayor wasn't that hard. They discovered she was in the middle of a 'cleansing' yoga session in a secluded section of the palace garden. What her informant forgot to mention was that said yoga session was an au’naturale event, and the mare didn't have any issue chatting while performing each pose butt naked.
I’m gonna get you for this, Inky! Drusilla promised as she kept taking notes.
"There is no need for any apology, Mark." Tree Hugger replied. Sitting with her legs behind her head, she joined her palms as she meditates. "The events of last night might have been aided by that drug, but its effects did nothing but open everypony to their true inner selves.”
Taking a deep breath, she arched her chest forward and Mark was unable to look away from her medium-sized breasts, probably about a C cup, as much as he wanted to fight it.
"I-I see, s-so glad to hear that but apologies were in order nonetheless. The things I said, the fear that I might have forced myself on someone…"
Opening one eye, Tree Hugger looked at him in pity.
"You seem distressed, would you like to join me?" she invited.
Putting her legs back, she stood up and then went into a hand-to-foot pose, making it easier to talk.
"No!" Drusilla yelled before clearing her throat. "I-I mean thanks, but that won't be necessary, Mayor Tree. We just wanted to ask a couple of questions, that is all."
Tree Hugger lifted her head to stare at the secretary in confusion, before sighing in disappointment. "Such a shame to repress one's self, but if that lifts the pressure on your souls I will be happy to comply. Thanks to my herbal tea diet and meditation practice, I have pretty strong resistance to those drugs, plus I barely drank that night." She changed to a half-standing forward bend while chuckling.
"Really? Because that could be of great help, thank you, Tree Hugger." Mark gave a genuine smile of appreciation as Drusilla went back to staring at her clipboard.
Noticing that, Mark leaned toward her, asking, "Why so embarrassed? You do this kind of thing to me all the time."
"That is teasing! This is an exhibition! There’s a difference!" Drusilla hissed quietly back, "She’s not teasing anyone here, just leaving no room for the imagination."
"Ah," Mark nodded in understanding as Tree Hugger moved into Gate Pose,
He listened intently as she began to recall the party, "After the toast made by Princess Celestia, we all went to the dance floor where we kept rotating partners. Everything was innocent fun and games until about a half hour in when everyone's aura started to turn more pink than usual. I saw you needing to take a breather in a corner when Mayor Ocellus introduced you to one of her friends."
"Yeah…I remember a bit of that, right up until the part where I kissed her."
Tree Hugger nodded and moved into Compass Pose before continuing, "After that, Mayor Cumulus grabbed my flank and asked me to dance, so I did. He was tired, so after one dance I let him sleep on a bench and use my lap as a pillow. I think I saw Spectral taking you to the garden about that time.”
That grabbed her audience’s attention. "Oh, really?"
She nodded and stood back up, "It didn't last long though," in Parivrtta Janu Pose she continued, "you both came back with Princess Twilight, all 3 of you laughing at something. Both of them were flapping their wings all over your body as you grabbed a handful of them.”
"Oh god, please tell me I didn't grope one of the Princesses?!" Mark begged.
"Oh, you did that too." Tree Hugger confirmed, leaving him mortified. She doesn't seem to notice, or care, as she took up the next part of her story, "After that, the music went slower, and Princess Luna invited you to dance with her." In Revolved Seated Wide Angle, she looked up, "You two seemed so cute, and her aura got an intense pink as you hugged her from behind while she nuzzled the side of your head and even stole a quick kiss here and there while blushing." Tree Hugger stopped and took a moment to treasure the memory, "You looked like a couple in love if you ask me."
"Yep, if she remembers that things will get awkward next time I see Princess Luna." Mark lamented as he grabbed his head and shook it while Drusilla looked at him in surprise.
"Anything else?" Mark queried with a resigned tone.
Tree Hugger shook her head, "When I saw you again you seemed very tired, so I let you rest on my lap."
That was something Mark remembered, "Yeah, I recall that. We talked about auras and something involving a lot of mares?"
She nodded while in Ubaya pose. "I got excited, too – so much so that I wanted to share a copy of my medical record with you. Though by the time I came back, you were gone and the guards were going into overdrive dispersing the crowd and preventing mass panic.”
She broke the pose and balanced on both hands while recalling the incident, “Eh, kind of a half-success with how a lot of panic still happened when half the mayors awoke in padded rooms with their hooves tied up, but still: Better alternative.” She stared down. “I should have done more, but even I was too relaxed to see the warning signs.”
"Wait what? Let's go back there." Drusilla cut in, perplexed at the idea, “You share your medical records with others?”
"Well, yeah, just because I'm a free spirit doesn't mean I'm not clean," Tree Hugger answered with a shake of her head, "that is just a mean stereotype ponies put on us. Contrary to what they think, we preach about fulfilling and enriching love without boundaries or consequences."
She finished her yoga positions and stood to face them, "Our physical form is our temple and as such it must remain clean and purified of any sort of illness. Especially when sharing one’s soul."
Mark and Drusilla exchanged glances.
"Wow, Tree Hugger that…that is a healthy way of living," Mark admitted.
"Wait, wait, that’s nice and all but why did you want to show him that?"
"Duh, to schedule a session of soul bonding.” Tree Hugger responded easily, “I wanted our experience to be free of any drug influence."
"That’s very thoughtful, but well…" Mark started to say.
Tree Hugger put her finger on his lips.
"I know you are gonna reject it, but as I said, that drink only helped you express your real self, nothing more. So, the offer will remain open and I will send the records of all the mares that will be invited," she winked at him, "in case you change your mind."
With that said she turned around and grabbed a robe before leaving but not before patting Drusilla's shoulder. "You should be more honest with yourself too."
Wordlessly they both watched her leave without a care in the world.
"Drusy did she just offer…?" Mark started.
"The less said about it the better!" She interrupted him with an intense blush as she checked Tree Hugger off the list, "She’s not our gal, so let's just move on."
He nodded, "Not much doubt there. Even if I tried to not look I got a good glance at her full body and besides being in pretty good shape she didn't seem to have ever had any type of…"
"I said not to speak about it!" Drusy insisted, grabbing his wrist and dragging him away to the last suspect.
********
Later that evening, the two visited a local casino on the outskirts of Canterlot, where the Mayor of Las Pegasus was exploring the place and playing on one of the machines. The usually elegant thestral had opted to wear more common fare for her night out, with blue jeans and a button-up red shirt slightly open revealing part of her bra-less cleavage. A pink handkerchief was wrapped around her neck to leave something to the imagination and the ensemble was finished with sunglasses on top of her head.
"Greetings, Mayor Mark." She said as she pulled the lever and turned around to look at the two with a subtle smirk, "So nice to hear you wanted us to talk some more outside the assembly."
Mark noticed other ponies glancing at them. Even in the noisy casino, they would need to speak carefully while in public. The slot machine behind Spectra stopped, showing a jackpot win.
"My name is Drusilla Dracul," the secretary introduced herself neutrally, "I'm Mayor Mark’s assistant. Nice to meet you, Mayor Spectra."
"The pleasure is all mine, dear." Mayor Spectra smiled and closed her eyes as they shook hands, "I have been an active follower of the Mayor of Canterlot ever since he made and fulfilled his promise of helping the thestral community and his campaign of placing us in a more flattering light than what some ponies believe." They both returned the stares of the ponies around them, who quickly returned to their own slot machines.
"I'm simply a firm believer in equal opportunity and tolerance for everyone, Mayor Spectra.” Mark replied, gaining her attention again, “It’s you all who are the true heroes with everything you have achieved. I only threw out ideas, It’s thestrals who put in the effort to make them come true."
Spectra leaned closer and smiled at him before turning to Drusilla.
"He’s too humble for his own good, isn't he?" she asked.
Drusilla sighed in frustration and rolled her eyes. "More than you could imagine. Sir, if I can speak my mind, I really wish you would just take the compliment."
They shared a small laugh, calming any tension going on around them as Mark pointed to the end of the row of machines. "Well, now that we finished with the pleasantries, could we have a moment of your time in private, Mayor Spectra?"
"Sure, just let me grab my earnings real quick," She agreed as she turned and scooped all of the bits she had just won into a bucket. The group headed over to the lounge where an empty booth caught their notice. Once seated Drusilla pulled a semi-translucent curtain across the opening for added privacy.
"There, that should do it." Spectra crossed her fingers and sighed, "Now, about last night," she leveled her stare at Mark, "after our small chat at the party, there are certainly plenty of unresolved issues that needed to be addressed."
She extended her neck and even though it was covered by make-up, up close both human and thestral could see a hickey behind the powder.
"Before we say anything else, I just want to apologize, Ms. Spectra. If I forced myself on you I…I didn't mean to…" Mark started but she raised a hand to stop him, shaking her head.
"Relax tiger, you were very gentle, all things considered.” She assured him. “If anypony should be apologizing it should be me." She admitted in shame as she looked down, "Let me ask you, how much do you remember?"
"I remember us dancing during a calm song. I admitted to having…" Mark pretended to cough and looked away "…an attraction to bat wings and you inviting me to touch them." He finished with some heat on his face, an action that Spectral copied.
"I can't believe I said that," she said, more to herself.
"It's okay, ok, it wasn't either of our faults. It was the drink talking." Mark quickly reminded her.
"I know, but that doesn't excuse how a simple game of teasing could escalate so much," She added with a shake of her head, "anything else?"
"I…not much. Whatever happened next is a mystery to me." Mark admitted, trying to be honest but not yet ready to tackle the main issue.
"Then allow me to fill in some blanks there. After our dance, we went to the balcony to admire the night while still hugging each other." She smiled at the memory, "my ex and I used to stargaze all the time. I intended to play with you a little, flying around, maybe carrying you with me here and there and then leaving you wanting for more." She chuckled to herself, "I never imagined things would turn out the other way around."
"Excuse me?" Mark couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"While we were hugging you stole a quick peck on my cheek and apologized with a sappy excuse about the moonlight on me, or something. Normally it wouldn't have affected me but that stupid drink turned me into a school filly so I just continued to invite you to explore more, as I rubbed my body against yours with closed eyes. I eventually grabbed your hand and slowly made you grope me and pull my dress here and there."
The atmosphere was starting to heat up as Mark and Drusilla were getting red-faced with the increasingly erotic story.
"For Luna’s sake, I don't know what came over me! Please don't think of me like that kind of mare. There’s a process to these things, you know? Normally I would have waited for the third date before letting you go that far." Spectral finished, defensively.
"O-Of course! I wouldn't do any of that normally either. I-I mean you are extremely attractive and I wouldn't be opposed, but I would wait for when we both were ready!" Mark stammered as well, "We aren't animals either, sure I don't mind mild teasing, but that was taking things too far, too fast."
"Exactly!" She pointed at him and sighed, "Thank the stars Princess Twilight caught us just before you…" she coughed and looked away with a blushing face, "found gold if you understand."
"We don't need to describe it further." Drusilla agreed rapidly, "So…was Princess Twilight also…?"
"I…I'm not sure, I remember that she was carrying a glass of wine but with how she stopped us, it reminded me of a schoolteacher. She kept telling us how we shouldn't do things in the open and suggested that we’d had one too many drinks." she laughed a little, "That mare could potentially be a great mom one day."
"Agreed." Mark nodded.
"Anyway,” Spectra continued, “once she calmed down, she went on and on about how happy she was that you put your name on the list."
"Wait what?" Mark's eyes went wide, "I did that?"
"You don't remember?" Spectral looked at him in confusion while Drusilla looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Mark only shook his head, "Ms. Spectra, I love being the Mayor of Canterlot, if I did indeed write that, it should immediately be rendered null and void under the law against signing binding contracts while intoxicated."
"You know about the law I made?" She asked, putting her hand on her chest, genuinely touched.
"Of course, it was a brilliant legislation that defended those that could potentially make bad decisions or worse were tricked into making them while under the influence of any substance." Mark asserted.
"Aww, thanks. It’s a shame though because Princess Twilight seemed over the moon at having you on board, but still, thanks." Spectra happily replied.
"How thankful do you think the princess was, Mayor Spectra?" Drusilla questioned with a raised eyebrow but Spectra simply shrugged.
"I don't know,” she admitted, “after she took you for a dance, everything turned hazy, but I swear I saw you trip and accidentally grope one of her breasts."
"Oh no, please tell me I didn't." Mark brought his hands to his face in embarrassment.
Upon seeing his reaction Spectra quickly tried to mollify him, "Eh, I could be wrong. I mean, next I heard was her boasting about how much she’d 'grown' over the years and inviting you to grope the other one to see for yourself." She shrugs once more, “Not that I would blame her either, if I grew two or three cups as she did, I would be boasting too.”
Her attempt failed and Mark groaned, even more embarrassed, at that revelation.
With Mark unable to continue, Drusilla picked up the conversation, "So, other than that hickie, nothing else happened?" She pointed at the love mark on Spectra’s neck.
"Pretty much, next thing I knew I woke up in the kitchen covered in jelly…and nothing else."
That snapped Mark out of his funk as he looked back in surprise only to find Spectra smirking at him.
"Got you."
"Oh hardy, har, har." He replied sarcastically and looked away as the thestral laughed.
"Relax, Mark just a little something to shift the mood. As you said, it wasn't our fault and all things considered," She grabbed his hand, "I enjoyed our time together. Having your arms around me felt so secure and comfortable." She confessed with a sigh before winking at him. "Give me a call if you ever visit Las Pegasus again, I would love to give you a tour of the town. Just no drinks this time."
"Agreed." Mark nodded and they exchanged goodbyes.
"That’s the last suspect, back to square one." Mark sighed as Drusilla crossed Spectra’s name from the list.
"Not completely, sir." She disagreed as she looked back at him, "While it may be true that none of them were our mystery mare, their stories clue us in on who you spent the night with; those mysterious pegasi."
Mark froze at that, "Oh no, please tell me it’s not them."
She shook her head, "I'm sorry, sir, but they are the only ones that fit the criteria." She shows him the list, "All the pegasus mares at the party were shorter than you. Heck, only two mares were actually taller, and they were both earth ponies. Besides, according to them, you were very close to each of them at one point or another."
"No, no, it must be a mistake. I mean…" he started to pace back and forth, "They can't be, the-they have alicorn magic, yeah! They couldn't get poisoned like the rest of us did. I mean I can't, they’re our rulers for Pete’s sake!"
"Mark, Mark look at me!" She grabbed his shoulders before he could start to hyperventilate, "Look at me! Ok?”
He complied and looked right at her yellow, reptilian eyes.
"I have my reservations too, but they will more than understand. It WAS an accident that they played a hand in. So, we can do two things here. We take a deep breath, schedule an appointment and ask them directly, or we forget the whole thing and pretend it didn't happen; leave it as just a one-night stand."
As Mark’s breathing slowed down she let him go.
"Either way, I'll be right by your side, sir," Drusilla assured him confidently.
After a few deep breaths, he managed to calm down and nod, "Thank you, Drusy. I needed that. You’re right, we can stop this investigation anytime we want…plus, I could also be wrong about them being tall, I don't remember much, after all.”
Drusilla crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not disregarding the option, just saying it's a possibility. At the very least, I'm positive it couldn't be Cel…I mean princess Celestia. Of them all, she was the only one that seemed relaxed during the party, and we only talked, according to Ocellus.'' Mark defended.
"True, if anything, it looks like Princess Luna is the one." Drusilla agreed and put two of her fingers on her chin, "So…do we continue then?"
"I'll need to think about it, this seems like a big can of worms. I need to be sure if I truly wish to open it. Could you give me until tomorrow to give you an answer?" Mark asked her.
"Of course, take all the time you need."
"Thanks."
"Now, about that list Spectra mentioned?" Drusilla changed subjects and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Should I be worried?"
"We’ll work on fixing that mistake first thing in the morning, don't worry," Mark promised her.
"Thanks for your visit, safe travels." Mark waved goodbye to his last meeting of the day before closing the door to town hall and sighing. Glancing at the clock, he was surprised to see it was already 7pm..
Getting his second wind, he approaches Drusilla, who was finishing filling some reports. "What’s next on the list, Ms. Drusilla?"
"One second, aaaand done." She puts the seal of approval on a document, before looking at Mark. "Nothing else, sir, that was the last thing on the list." She checks the clock as well, "And right on time too, it's closing time."
"Great, I will see you tomorrow then." The human nods and starts packing his things when Drusilla approaches him.
"Since we are outside of working hours, can we talk about what you decided to do about what we discussed last night?"
"Of course," Mark replies with a smile, “ my answer is no. As tempting as Twilight’s offer might sound, my place is here in Canterlot.. I'm not going anywhere, Drusy." He gives her a light punch on the shoulder, "Especially not without my BFBS. That’s why I asked you to save me an appointment. First thing tomorrow I’m telling Princess Twilight thanks, but no thanks and apologies for the mix up." He grabs his briefcase and heads to the door.
"That’s nice, glad to hear you’re wanting to clear the air." Drusilla sighs and looks down, "But that’s not what I meant." She kept looking forward, not needing to turn around to know that Mark stopped moving. "Did you think about the other subject we talk about?"
"I did." Mark replied looking forward as well, with his hand on the handle door. "Long and hard, all night long, barely slept even."
"Mark…you don't need to do this, whoever she was, she gave you an out, you have a reason, she has a reason." She turns around, "Heck, I'm on her side now. If the public even suspected that the Mayor of Canterlot and the Princess went for a roll in the hay…"
"...It would destroy our public image in ways I couldn't imagine." He finishes before looking down. "No matter which princess, the press could spin it to say I only got elected because the princesses pulled some strings. Creatures would view me as her personal toy, a mayor in name only. As for her, it will be viewed like she is a closet deviant who can be exploited to obtain whatever you want as long as you fill her cravings…and that’s just me seeing the best possible outcome."
"So you understand why I can't continue with this chase right? Mark, I'm begging you, if you can't let go of anything else please, let go of this. For you, for me, for Druid, please, just this once…let it go."
"…Ok." He answers calmly as Drusilla sighs in defeat and stares down.
"Then I have no choice but to immediately start my…my…" She needs a moment to process what she just heard and looks at him with wide eyes as a smile starts to form on her face. "Come again?"
"You are right, Drusy." Mark turns to look at her "It’s not worth it. Heck, I already got the answer I needed." He smiles weakly at her, "It's just a piercing. I bet the Princess can get another one. Better to just put this one to rest."
Unable to contain herself she launches at him and gives Mark a strong bear hug. "Oh, thank Faust! You have no idea what that means to me. Thank you Mark! You aren't such a blockhead after all."
The cheerful display helps him relax and he returns the gesture, "Don't go saying I don't hear you now, Drusy. I am not that stubborn either." They end the hug and he notices a piece of paper on her hand. "Hey what is that?"
"Nothing! Nothing!" He was about to grab the paper bur Drusilla stand back and, to his surprise, eats it in front of him "Jsugh shum funk fail (Just some junk mail)."
"O...k, anyway I might need a couple of days to relax before I see the Princesses again in the flesh. So, after I clear the air with Princess Twilight, could you…?"
"Consider it done, sir." She starts to work on rescheduling their agenda, "I'm gonna put so many activities between you and them that next time they see your face it will be at the end of Winter Wrap Up."
"You’re the mare, Drusy."
"Heck yeah I am! Now go home, stupid. Some human really needs his beauty sleep now. Don't think for a second I didn't hear the bit about not sleeping last night." She half jokes half orders as she continues to work. Mark laughs and nods before heading back home, a big weight lifted from his shoulder.
As he walks through the empty streets of Canterlot, he can't help but feel like he is being watched. Looking around, he tries to see if there is any pony nearby only to find air and empty alleys. The place was cold and damp and the clouds above him were telling him it was about to rain, so he started to speed his march. Suddenly the sound of a bottle being kicked alerts him. Turning around, he glimpses a shadow moving around by some dumpsters.
"Hello?"
He starts to see more shadows moving around him.
"Is anyone there?"
The place was deadly silent until he heard a humming behind him. Next thing Mark realized a burlap sack was put over his head and his body was flying backward into a chain link fence while his hands and feet got tied up with a rope.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" Mark starts but suddenly someone punches him in the side of his face, knocking him off balance. Mark hears laughter as more punches and kicks land all over his body.
"How do you like that, monkey?"
"Go back to your forest, freak! We don't want your kind here!"
"Canterlot was doing just fine until you started whining and complaining! Stupid commoner, learn your place!"
"Canterlot is only for the high class! You and those monstrous bats need to go back to the caves where you belong."
“Just because the law forgave you, doesn’t mean we will or forget what you did to Mayor Silver!”
By the time they were done, Mark was gasping for air, coughing blood and in too much pain to move. Someone grabbed his hair through the sack and forced him to sit up. As he did, Mark saw the figure of a unicorn getting closer to his ear.
"Consider this a warning. Resign from office, pick up your garbage and leave Canterlot, or next time we are gonna get your little bat bitch."
With his eyes wide, Mark's body goes stiff and he breathes from his nose.
"Look at him, he is frozen in fear." Some of them mock him as they all laugh and point at him.
“HA! What did I tell you, those rumors were only exaggerated lies, oh careful or the mighty and scary monster might get us, what a joke!” One of them laughs even harder after claiming that in a sarcastic voice.
“Bet he only took credit from some earth pony brute he hired to punch Silver Tongue.”
They continued to mock him and none of them saw how his tied hands were slowly moving toward the unicorn in front of him until it was too late. Mark started to strangle him with all his might, startling everyone as the other unicorns blasted him with magic.
Hearing one of them gasping for air, he could see the silhouette in front of him grabbing his throat. "You are dead, freak! DEAD!" They were preparing to shoot their magic at him as Mark tried to recover, until help finally arrived in the form of a flash of lightning that illuminated the place long enough for the ponies crossing the sidewalk to see what was happening.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" A vague familiar female voice calls in the distance and the group starts to panic before teleporting away. Hearing hoofsteps, Mark closes his eyes for a moment before the sack is removed and sees a group of ponies gathering around him, the mare that call earlie looking at him in the eyes with concern as he stare at her purple iris, as she coup his right cheek, until he passes out. One of his hands firmly clenching pieces of clothing he managed to rip from his attackers.
The Next Day
The sound of something being cut slowly brings the human back to the world of the living When his vision clears, he sees Drusila peeling an apple next to him as he lays in bed. His arms were covered in bandages, there was an IV connected to his right arm. With how sterile and clean the room was, it didn't take him long to piece together that he was in a hospital.
"Drusy?" He weakly asks as he tries to sit up. Catching the thestral’s attention, she stops peeling and looks at him before wrapping him in a tight hug.
"Thank Faust!" He heard her sniff and tear up a little. "When I got the call…I was terrified, I thought…I thought I was gonna lose you. What the hell were you thinking! Walking on an empty street like that!"
Tightening the hug, Mark soon relaxes after the initial surprise and returns the gesture, "Come on Drusy, it’s gonna take way more than this to stop me. I used to spar with Big Mac and Applejack back when I was still new to Equestria. Compared to them, a stuck up snob’s punch is like a bug bite."
"This is not the time for jokes!" She ended the hug and grabbed his shoulder staring at him with tears in her eyes, "Mark you were ASSAULTED, the doctors told me that you have a minor concussion, and it was a miracle there weren’t any broken bones. This is a serious matter. It's just like back then."
"Indeed." A green pegasus stallion with a doctor uniform walks into the room before pulling a flash light and approaching the mayor. "This isn't exactly a laughing matter, sir," He starts to examine Mark’s eye. The doctor sighs before taking a glance at Drusilla, "but it is also appreciated if you don't raise your voice Ms. Drusilla, this is still a hospital."
"Sorry." She steps away so the doctor can continue his examination.
"Good morning sir, I'm Doctor Gray Skies, but you can call me Gerald. For some reason ponies feel more at ease with that name." He chuckles a little at his own joke. "So, how are you feeling, Mr. Mayor? Please don't try to be a hero, just be honest with me." Once he finishes flashing the light in Mark’s eyes, he puts the device away and gives him a deadpan look.
"Saying 'I’m fine' isn’t gonna cut it, is it?"
"No." He replies flatly and Mark sighs in defeat.
"Fine, I still feel sore all over my body, and my stomach hurts a lot." He grabs said part, feeling some bandage on it. "They concentrated their kicks there, mostly. My head is still ringing and my right arm hurts when I move it." He clenches and extends his palm a couple of times, "Other than that, I'm fine, all things considered."
"I see, well, like your friend here just said. Considering the series of bruises and hits you received, it’s a miracle not a single bone was broken. Your skeletal system truly is resilient."
He chuckles at the compliment, "What can I say Doc? I really like my milk."
"It sure seems like it. Still I would like it if you stay here for a day for observation."
"How long was I out, Dr. Gerald?"
"Not much thankfully, just the majority of this morning and all of last night. It's almost noon at the moment."
"Noon! Aught, Twilight’s appointment!" He brings his palm over his head, "She is not gonna like this. Of all the Princesses she is the most obsessed with schedules and punctuality."
"Already canceled, sir." Drusilla points out, "That mare can wait. This is an emergency and you heard him, one day off for observation. If she has a problem with that I will gladly tell her where she can put that schedule of hers."
The doctor's eyes wide in horror until Mark laughs nervously and taps her shoulders, “Kidding, kidding, she wouldn’t do that. Right Drusy?”
He gives her a side glare and she huffs, “Yeah, let's go with that.”
"A-Anyway, just as a precaution, to ensure that concussion is nothing serious, it is better for you to rest here for a day. Tell me, does your head hurt, sir?"
"A bit yeah, but it's tolerable, other than the bruises I'm fine" He sighs in defeat "And as much I would like to leave and give my bed to someone that needs more, perhaps it would be best if I listen." He looks at a nearby window. "Something tells me the press is just dying to take a picture of me in bed."
"Not only them, I'm afraid." Gerald confirms with a nod "This was an assault on a government official, so of course the royal guard would like to have a word with you, too. Is it ok for them to come and ask you a couple of questions, Mr. Mayor?"
Mark suddenly remembered what he did before passing out "Yes…ah Doctor Gerald, before I passed out, I clenched some clothes with my hand. Did you…"
"Secured and sent to the lab for analysis." He nods with a smile. "Clever move, sir, that sure will help find the criminals." He then looks at Drusilla, "Ms. Drusilla maybe it’s best if…"
"She can stay." Mark dismisses him "As my best secretary it will help me calm down if she stays here for moral support." She nods once and crosses her arms.
"Ok, if that's what you want, I will come back later." Gerald nods and leaves the room allowing two earth pony royal guards to enter.
"Mayor Mark? I'm Officer Lando, and this is my partner, Officer Walls. We are conducting the investigation into your assault last night. Mind if we ask you a couple of questions?" Lando asks, bringing out a notebook and pen.
"Sure, as a matter of fact I think I can help you gentlemen." He extends his palm toward them, "During the attack, I managed to scratch one of the criminals’ neck, maybe there is some DNA on my fingers."
"That would be helpful, yeah." Lando looks at his partner who nods and leaves the room. "We will collect the samples later, for now why don't we start with recalling the events of that night."
Mark nods and tries to remember everything that happened. "I was heading home after working late at Townhall with Ms. Drusilla here. The street was eerily empty."
"You know the name of the street?"
"Rookhoof street 45. The same one I use everyday when going back and forth from home."
The guard nods and writes everything down. "I was getting cold and looking up I saw that it was about to rain, so I tried to rush home. That is when I heard something behind me and felt someone staring. Turning back, I tried to find anyone but could only see glimpses of shadow moving around. I heard a low hum in the distance and next thing I knew they put a sack over my head, used their magic to tie my arms and legs and tossed me into a fence."
"Did you recognize any of the criminals?"
He shook his head "They were using a voice filter to alter their voices and I couldn't recognize their silhouettes through the fabric of the sack. Once they immobilized me, they started attacking while laughing and throwing insults at me repeatedly."
"So this was a tribal crime then?"
He nods once "Or at least social class one. From the type of insults they were throwing, they seem to be part of the ponies that didn't like me being a mayor and were demanding I leave Canterlot. They threatened to go after Drusilla if I don't comply with their demands."
That caught both ponies' attention. "That was when I lost my composure and tried to strangle one of them, that is when I scratched him."
"I see." The guard keep writing everything down
"They sure didn't like that, so they all blasted me with their magic. At least four or five of them were unicorns from the lights I saw, but I couldn't get a good number on how many there were. They started saying how I was dead, luckily, a flash of lightening, illuminated the alley alerting some passersby of what was happening. The group panicked and teleported away. That is all I remember before I passed out."
"Thank you sir, that will help with our investigation." Soon his partner returned with a small pick and a glass vial. "Perfect, Mr. Mayor, could you repeat what you just told me to my partner while I talk with your secretary for a second?"
"Sure." They both nod and Drusilla leaves as Mark retells the story to Walls as he collects the sample from Mark’s fingernails.
Once they close the door the royal guard gets straight to the point. "Ms. Drusilla, I need to ask you,does the Mayor have any enemies that would wish him harm?"
"You mean other than those stuck-up, snobbish brats that whine because their tea is too hot?" She immediately answers, not hiding her anger whatsoever. "None, he is loved by all of Canterlot’s social classes. I simply can't believe some creature would do something like this to him." She hugs herself and look away
"It is the cruel reality, unfortunately. By the time we get that testimony there is a high possibility that they might attempt another attack.." Gerald sighs and looks down. "Ms. Drusilla, I'm afraid we will have to add extra security to town hall and its workers."
"Agreed. Until those bastards are behind bars it would be for the best to protect the mayor from any other attack."
"He is not the only one in danger." The guard clarifies as she looks at him in surprise.
"Me?"
"You heard the testimony, ma'am, the criminal made a clear threat of targeting you next if he doesn't step down from office, and if they were willing to attack a member of the government I highly doubt they would stop there. Normally, this would place you both into the witness protection program,but doing so would be just what they want; for you two to disappear. Probably so they can swoop in and bring Canterlot back to its 'natural state' or some bullcrap like that."
"Yeah, that is only gonna happen over my dead body. I know Mark, he would rather fight than let a bunch of pompous snobs get their way."
"That’s what I thought, so instead of doing that why don't we turn this threat of theirs into an opportunity?" The guard suggests.
“I'm listening." Drusillay raised an eyebrow, more than intrigued and in part believing that this way she can give those ponies a piece of her mind.
As the clock hit midnight, the room where Mark was under observation was in complete silence. He tried to sleep as best he could, but all the things swirling around his mind were slowly but surely turning his peace into a nightmare. Memories of the ponies shouting insults at him, the words of distress from Drusila and finally, the sound of a ballista being shot followed by the screams of a familiar pony reaching for Mark clinging to life uttering one sentence "You…promised."
"No!" A whisper shout followed by the sound of glass breaking finally snaps him out of his nightmare and he sits up with a start covered in a cold sweat. A situation that wasn't improved by a hand suddenly covering his mouth, preventing him from screaming. In the dim light, he could see a mare wearing a dark blue leather bodysuit, with various pouches and belts, along with what, at first glance, appears to be a large camping pack on her back. Even in the darkness, the human could clearly see her outfit left next to nothing to the imagination in regards to the mare’s figure, in particular her big chest and long horn.
"Don't scream!" The mysterious mare begs him in a whisper with a distorted voice, bringing a finger into her mouth in mild panic. Mark struggles in a vain attempt to free his mouth, which only earns a tighter grip on his face. The mare was stronger than she looked.
"I'm not here to hurt you." Her backpack moves involuntarily and after a second the human realized that what he had thought was a backpack was actually her wings, which were currently restrained by a belt on the side of her suit, giving him an idea of who she was. "Please calm down, I just want to talk and help you with your injuries."
Once he stops struggling she stares at him with gray eyes, clearly an extra attempt to hide her identity. "Are we ok? You aren’t gonna scream?"
Mark nods once.
"Ok, ok, I can still fix this." She starts to look around at the floor where Mark could see a broken milk bottle. Once done, she takes a deep breath and looks at him. "I'm gonna let go now, do you promise not to scream and let me talk?"
The mayor nods once again and ever so slowly, she retracts her hand as he looks at her neutrally. "It’s you, isn't it?" He questions, raising an eyebrow.
"Huh?" The mare looks at him confused.
Rather than answer, Mark moves faster than she can react, leaning forward and grabbing a belt on the side of her suit.
"Wait, don't…!" The mare protested, but it was too late and with one pull Mark released the restraints, letting her wings spread free or at the very least as free as they could while covered in a tight leather suit "…pull that." The mare finishes with a defeated sigh.
"Sorry." Mark let go of the belt letting her take a step back "I just didn't want you to be more uncomfortable than necessary…'your highness'.'" The mayor’s stare softens as he sees her eyes widen in surprise and horror, but before she could protest he raised a hand
"It's ok, you don't need to say anything." He sighs and looks away "I know the huge problem that it would be if ponies find out about us, accident or not." He looks back at her with a calm smile "You did the right thing, I will not push the issue anymore."
Letting out a sigh of relief, the princess looks down. Mark can see the silhouette of a smile under her mask "Thank you, Mark, what happened that night, the things we did…" She fiddles with her fingers "Believe me when I say, the second I left, I felt horrible."
"Let's not dwell on it princess, neither of us was in our right mind then." Mark explains while she pulls a chair next to him "We were simply caught by somecreature else’s tricks, that is all." He grabs her hand and squeezes it a little. She replies in kind, "For what it's worth it, I will treasure our night together, your highness, you were magnificent."
Mark took a moment of pride seeing her giggle a bit "You weren't half bad either." She continues looking away before her eyes widen and she shakes her head "No, no, that is not what I came here for at all, focus!"
She slaps both cheeks with her hands before looking at him once more "Mark I promise, the ponies responsible for all that happened to you will be severely punished." She starts to shout/whisper before calming down, although her anger still remains.
"First the horror of spiking our drinks at the assembly, and now this?" She gestures to the hospital room, "I don't know if this was their plan B, or part of their machiavellian plan, but either way I will no longer be on the sidelines. I won’t let this injustice go on unpunished. I bailed on you once." She glares at him getting closer "I'll not bail this time. That is the least I can do after I ran off without even a 'goodbye'."
"Princess, no, you don't need to do this, the royal guards…" She stops him by raising her hand.
"...They will do their job, as I will do mine but with how serious this crime is. I'll make sure MY message is loud and clear, Canterlot is not an elitist city anymore and anyone that dares say otherwise will serve time." She promised with finality before her gaze softened. "Besides, I'm not only referring to the investigation. That will be processed and dealt with properly, by the books, but you deserve more than just me doing my job, I must mend our relationship even if just a little."
"Oh no your highness, you don't need to force yourself."
"Yes I do,and this is not up for discussion." She presses the issue "Please, at the very least allow me to restore you to health."
"What do you mean?" Now intrigued Mark lets go of her hands as she paces back and forth ignoring his question.
"That is the issue, I need to be careful. There are protocols and due processes that can last years! By the time there is an answer even if it goes my way you would have already been healed. Just because I have these sorts of spells at hand, as a princess, I can't just drop everything and heal anypony I please all willy nilly, treating this like I'm picking flowers. Mending mistakes or not, the ramifications, jealousy, controversies, claims of favoritism…" She starts to list to herself under her breath.
"Your highness…" Mark wanted to calm her down but she seemed to be in her own little world.
"So that means normal magic is out. The tracing alone would be a dead give away, plus I can't just heal you with a spell and call it a day. I'm not a doctor, one miscalculation and I could make things worse in so many ways."
"Princess." Mark tries to call for her once more.
"The safe bet was that potion." She stare at the broken bottle on the floor, "Me and my clumsy hands, if only I hadn't tripped over that stupid stool everything would have gone smoothly. Just get in, make you drink it while you sleep and get out, what am I supposed to do now?"
With a deadpan look Mark was done trying to call for her and resorted to an alternative. While she was distracted he leaned forward and grabbed the edge of one of her wings and gave it a good yank. The results were immediate as the princess flinched, squeaked in surprise and fell into the bed where Mark proceeded to hug her from behind.
"It's ok." He whispered into her ear before rocking her body side to side.
"What're you doing?" The princess looks up to see him as he keeps his eyes closed.
"Calming you down. Please relax your highness. I might not know which princess you are, but whoever you are, I know you more than deserve that crown of yours. You have faced far more dangerous and complex issues than this. Compared to them, I'm just a piece of cake, maybe not even cake. I must be more like half a cookie at most." He chuckles at his own joke and was pleased when he felt her body relax and even join in his laugh momentarily.
"Everything will work out, you only need to take a moment to breathe and think. I know a solution will come to you right away." Mark instructs/praises her as he hums a small tune trying to calm her down. It seems to do the trick as the princess relaxes her body, closes her eyes and does as instructed.
Even if he knew it was wrong and he couldn't enjoy it as much due to the suit, Mark took pleasure in just holding the distressed mare in his arms as she leaned in and nuzzled his chest in reply. The pair stayed like that for a couple of moments until an idea came to her.
"You are right! There is a solution." She breaks the hug and stands up once more. "It is a bit unorthodox, but then again, time is of the essence and it is perfect. It’s untrackable, simple and more importantly, effective no matter the injury. It's even better than my original plan. I just…it would only be this one time and that is it. No more hiccups." She starts to rant and Mark chuckles briefly, letting her have her moment until he was sure she was listening again.
"See? There you go, I knew the solution would come to you." Mark praises her as she turns around and points at him.
"Mark what I'm about to do and say can't leave this room, are we clear?" She asks him with a glare, pointing at the floor.
"Crystal." He nods in understanding, intrigued at what she was about to propose.
"Good, then I need you to close your eyes and open your mouth wide."
"What?" He raised an eyebrow confused before looking at the floor, starting to fear she might manipulate the spot of white liquid on the floor and somehow made him drink it in one shot or something like that. "Why?"
"Just trust me, ok? It…It is kind of embarrassing and I would rather explain it while I show you rather than before. P-Plus I don't want you to get the wrong idea so just, please?" She grabs one of his hands with both of hers as she begs "Trust your princess."
Mark was still unsure but decided to trust her judgment and comply with a nod before closing his eyes, opening his mouth and readying himself to drink floor potion.
"Thank you. Now, no matter what happens, do NOT open your eyes." She reminds him and he nods once keeping his eyes clenched shut. Thankfully, rather than having a taste of the floor and dirty potion, Mark instead heard the sound of unzipping followed by a small clip being released. Confused, he raised an eyebrow and then was about to open his eyes when he felt a big, soft mass forced into his mouth as well as a hand covering his eyes.
With a muffle scream the human tried to protest the sudden intrusion when his tongue felt a hard numb twitching inside his mouth as the mare moaned. "P-Please don't make this awkward." the princess protested. If he could, Mark would have given her a deadpan look for the ridiculous plea while she was shoving one of her breasts right into his mouth and squeezing to release the milk inside.
Surprised, Mark almost gags from being forced to nurse before he begins to drink her maternal milk as she activates her horn.
"L-Listen well, Mark, this is a well regarded secret of alicorn anatomy. As part of having the traits of earth ponies, our milk has the same incredible nutritious properties, turned up to eleVEN!...Watch the teeth." She complains and Mark utters an apology as best as he can with his mouth full.
"If our milk is charged even further with magic, it can become something beyond nutritious. It can do more than just keep an adult body healthy, it can hypercharge their natural healing properties and accelerate curatives of all kinds, maybe even to the point of erasing a condition completely."
The princess grabs the back of his head as Mark starts to drink more calmly her drink and starts playing with her other soft pillow earning more small gasps and moans from her.
"C-Consider this m-My apology, just this time. I-I will help you out feeling better j-Just try to be careful. I-I heard legends of ponies becoming obess with alicorn milk from overconsumption." The mare warns him and the mayor almost couldn't register her words. So engrossed was he in the delicious treat. He almost lost himself on the flavor and how he wanted it to never end.
The princess for her part wasn't faring much better, as she kept moaning and hugging his frame from the attention he was giving to her body, not noticing how his hand started to head south until it reached its mark in the form of her petal which he touched on top of her clothes.
"W-Wo oh oh! What are you doing?" She question letting go and seeing him in the face as Mark smile with a dopey smile with his eyes still close
"Saying thank you, do you really believe I could stay still while such a kind princess is treating me to the most delicious milk in all of Equestria?"
"Mark, I told you, this is just for an apology and nothing more." She reproaches but makes no attempt to move her body away.
"I know." Mark nods before resuming playing with her entrance "I still stand with what I say"
"M-Mark n-o, no!" With a shiver the princess grabs his wrist.
"We can't."
"And we won't. But at the very least I want to say goodbye." He tells her in sorrow. "Please."
"Mark it was just sex, nothing else."
"I know, my god I wish it could be more than just that but I know it can't be more. No matter how much I wish for it."
She looked at him in pity "Was it really that good? It was purely carnal desire fuel by a drug. You are just confused."
"It not only for the sex, princess I don't want this to be shallow and plain phisical." He grabs her waist and brings her closer "I'm sorry, I know how petty I'm sounding right now but…I wanted to make a real connection afterward. I'm not a pervert, I don't just like to have sex just for lust. If I lay with a mare, I wish to talk, to joke, to thank her and at the very least leave on friendly terms, even if it was just a one night fling. As corny as that might sound, that is the type of guy I'm."
He starts to get teary eyed "But I can't and that is what is hurting me the most."
"It hurting me too." She admits and Mark could hear a sniff "It might be an accident but despite the drug, despite what happened, I felt something. Not only physically but more meaningful, even after the drugs wore off. I was scared and confused, I wanted for us to talk about what happen but I…I didn't knew what to do, I never thought that something so simple could be so thrilling." she start to chuckle a little "I never felt so alive, by the stars it so stupid but just because it somehow forbiden…"
"...It felt so good and exciting" Mark finishes and agrees with her as they both clean their eyes and chuckle a little "Why does it feel so good doing something so wrong?"
"My God, what is wrong with us? Did we just discover some bizarre kink?" She questions at both herself and Mark
"I don't know!" They both laugh a little with tears in their eyes, unconsciously Mark has resumed playing with her as she keeps nursing back to health as his injuries slowly start to dissipate. They didn't want to say anything to ruin the moment, so they decided to just stay quiet and enjoy this little moment in time.
The small, periodic moans of the princess were music for the mayor as he exchanged between breasts and even went as far as to give them a good yank and pinch which made her cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming as her orgasm finally arrived.
Recovering from the afterglow she put her forehead against his "We can't keep doing this."
"Agree, I hate it so much but I…I agree." Mark nods in between pants as they separate
"Thank you for understanding, it is not nearly enough but at the very least I can aid you in your recovery."
"Princess please don't be so harsh on yourself. I already forgave you."
"And I appreciate it, yet I still need to forgive myself. I needed to at least do this" She let go, and Mark hears her putting her clothes back on
"You can open your eyes again."
Doing so he watched her turn around before closing his eyes and struggling to remain in bed "I stayed far longer than I should." She turned around and was preparing to leave when Mark couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed her wrist.
"Princess wait."
"What is…HMPG?!" Caught off guard Mark stood up, turned her around and pulled her mask enough to reveal her mouth for him to plant one kiss on her lips. It wasn't intrusive or hungry, but rather simply conveying his feelings at the moment. One small kiss to remember.
Once he was done he brought her into a hug "Just something small for us to remember." He whisper and he hear a sniff
"Why? Why are you making this harder for both of us?"
He can only tighten the hug or risk opening his own tears, before laughing "Consider it payback for blindside me with those weapons of yours, and give me a taste of the greatest drink I would never get to taste again. Now we are even."
Neither says anything else, and only resorts to keep hugging for a minute more until eventually they break apart while holding hands. The room was so dark and his eyes were still adjusting so he couldn't distinguish any color under the mask despite being so close "This needs to end here."
"Yeah, I know." Mark look down in defeat
"It-it was nice while it lasted." The princess says, trying to cheer him up and he pretends to smile at her.
"It did." They subconsciously go for one last short kiss goodbye before looking at others eyes, then go for another and another until they start making out more strongly before the princess moans in protest and pushes him away.
"I-I need to go now!" The princess says in a rush, pulling the mask back down and stepping backwards, almost tripping over the same stool once more before laughing it off.
"Y-Yeah." Mark copied her and the two head to the bed and window respectively, leaving the human alone, extremely confused, with a painful erection and unsure of what to do next. Looking at his hand who was slightly damp for what he did to the princess sighing and bury his head on the pillow
Why? Why did I kiss her? She is right, we need to cut this out while we still can. I took a huge risk, she could have taken it the wrong way, she could have gotten mad at my actions! She could have banished me. That was just stupid. Extremly hot and exciting but stupid!
He keeps chastising himself, switching from confused to happy, to shameful, to prideful, to confused again. Over and over until the sleep finally caught up to him and he had to continue his introspective, in the dream realm where luckily his mind wasn't plagued by any more nightmares.
Washing the dishes, the mayor keeps working on cleaning his fairly simple suburban house, as if he was on autopilot. Everything was black and white and there was instrumental music playing as though he was stuck inside on some corny 80's family sitcom. He was wearing his usual formal suit but he had rolled up his sleeves and for some reason he was smoking a black pipe.
As he was vacuuming the carpet in the lobby he stumbled over a baseball bat and groaned in irritation. Looking up at the start of the stairs to the second floor "Canterlot!" he calls as canned laughter was heard behind him
"Yes daddy?" A brown unicorn colt with a white dot on the left side of his head pokes his head out as an invisible audience cheers for his arrival only to flinch and look back when Mark raises both the bat and his eye "What did I tell you about leaving your toys on the floor?"
"Sorry dad." Recoiling a little, Canterlot walks down the stairs, he was wearing a simple black shirt and white short pants as well as tennies. In his left hand he had a crumpled piece of paper.
Once he was on the bottom Mark tapped his foot for an explanation as the kid kept looking down "Well?"
"When I heard that mommy was coming earlier I wanted to surprise her with a drawing and rush to my room once I came in." He shows him a crude drawing half way down of him, the colt and a tall alicorn with her face covered in scribbles. "I'm sorry."
Softening his gaze Mark kneels in front of the colt. The audience replies to all the actions "Oh champ, I understand that you must be excited, but that is not an excuse to throw common manners out the window." He pats his shoulder as Canterlot glares at him.
"What about you? Didn't you say you had a meeting to prepare?" He tilted his head before looking around. "You have been cleaning the house even though it was already clean to begin with just to impress her."
That catches him off guard and he pretends to cough "Well, you see…your mom works so hard and I thought maybe she would like this little surprise when she comes back."
"Whatever." He looked down in disappointment. "It's pointless anyway, once she comes all she is gonna talk about is how well Equestria is doing in college." Canterlot pouted, crossing his arms.
"Hey, hey, look at me champ." Mark gently guided his face to see him "Your mother loves you both. She simply gets distracted easily and your sister, well she has a tendency to seek attention."
"It's not fair! When is it going to be my turn?" Canterlot demanded stomping the floor.
Distressed, Mark stood up and extended his hand "Tell you what, why don't we both impress your mom by making her favorite dish? That sure would make her extra happy and then we can talk about her spending more time with you."
That brightened his day "We are making a triple layer chocolate cake with sprinkles?! …oh and hot sauce as a topping!?"
Mark can't help but laugh and shake his head as he lifts him up "Canterlot, you inherited your mom's sweet tooth."
They were about to enter the kitchen when the door opened and a white light prevented Mark from seeing who exactly entered. "Mom!"
Canterlot, out of nowhere, sprouted wings from his back and flew to meet the mare as Mark was still trying to adjust his eyes until he felt a hand cupping his face "Hi honey." As she brought him to look up she surprised him with a small kiss on the lips and then smirks "I'm home." Mark's eyes widen in surprise and horror when in front of him was an amalgamation of Celestia, Luna and Twilight roll up into one mare with Celestia fur, Luna mane and tail and Twilight wings as her horn was all 3 of their colors as well, similar to her eyes.
Waking up Mark could only blink constantly at what was by far the most bizarre lucid dream he ever had before sitting up in bed.
The fuck did I just dream about?
The mayor kept poundering to himself, looking at the floor where the now dry spot where the potion was and hidden under the bed was a feather whose color was obscure by the shadow. Intrigued Mark was about to stand up and figure out once and for all what mare pay him a visit until he heard a door opening and from it a pegasus nurse walks looking at a clipboard and then getting slightly startled when she saw Mark wide awake and looking at her "Oh Mr. Mayor, good morning"
She offers a friendly smile as she approaches him, "You startled me a little just now, didn't know you were such an early bird." She jokes while approaching him "How are you feeling?"
"Better than ever ma’am." Mark replies honestly, aware how he indeed felt great, better than ever even. The pain is completely gone, and while still numb, his injuries seem to be improving by the second. "And sorry for scaring you, I'm so used to waking up at dawn for work that sometimes I don't even need an alarm clock." He pulled the sheet off of him "In fact, I feel so great, and today is such a lovely day. I think I'm ready to go back to the office."
"Whoa, there!" The nurse immediately rushed to his side in alarm and put her hands on his shoulder pushing him back to bed. "Sir, you were assaulted just yesterday, there were internal injuries, we had to operate and cast very complex healing spells on your stomach." She start to list on a very stern voice
"You did?" Mark blinks, surprised at how he was worse off than he originally thought as she nods.
"What you are feeling is most likely the painkillers and adrenaline boost spell right now. Trust me, it's best if you rest and wait here until we tell you, you are free to go."
Once laying back on bed the nurse put the sheets on top of him once more. "Plus believe me, the last thing you want is to step out of the hospital." She points at a nearby window covered by its curtains "It's a circus out there. A mob of reporters is waiting at the entrance with an itchy finger ready to press their camera and capture the next front page for their respective newspaper."
"Of course they are." Mark let go a sigh of frustration "Press, am I right? Those guys can be relentless."
"They sure are, but none of them will step a hoof inside, you can trust in us sir."
"Understood." He nods and stirs on his bed a little to get more comfortable "Then in that case what is on the agenda? Maybe I could at the very least fill out some paperwork."
The nurse gave him a deadpan "Nice try, you know what doctor Gerald instructed, one whole day in observation and rest, we will take your vitals at noon to see how are you doing but until then you are forbidden to work on anything. Only if the doctor gives his blessing, then you can leave." She passed him a book "In the meantime here, have some reading material to pass the time. Sorry we ran out of Daring Doo copies so this would be the next best thing."
"The Book of Friendship?" Mark read the title out loud before raising an eyebrow at the nurse.
"What? It is a great read. More than a lesson, it is kind of an adventure story about a humble unicorn filly that one day caught the attention of Princess Celestia and under her guidance eventually became a royal herself."
"Well, that is not exactly how I would describe it," The princess in question comments as she walks inside startling the nurse who quickly bow to her "but I'm glad you enjoyed it nonetheless."
"Y-Your highness." She continues to keep her head low as Twilight dismisses her and approaches Mark. The human tries to keep his composure the best he can, but flashes of his dream plus last night activities and the one before that, are making things pretty uncomfortable on his part.
"Sorry to come unannounced. When I heard what happened to you I wanted to rush here right away, but my hands were tied with a lot of pressing matters that needed my attention." She apologizes with her ears pressing against her skull and she looks at him pitifully.
Her words help him relax and keep his mind out of the gutter.
"There is nothing to apologize for, your highness, what happened to me has nothing to do with…" He began but Twilight stop him by raising her hand
"Please Mark. I appreciate the show of respect, but despite it having been a while and our jobs forcing us to keep things professional, I still like to think of you as an old friend I once nursed back to health when I was still getting used to this piece of metal." She looks up and taps her tiara with one finger. "We are in private now, you can drop the title."
He looks at her in surprise before smiling and chuckling a little, shaking his head. "Sorry, Twilight. I suppose I'm still getting used to how much you have grown since I left the town in search of adventure."
Her blushing face and averted gaze, makes him remember what Spectra told him and subsequently causes him to blush "I-I don't mean like getting fat!" He quickly added, raising his hands in fake surrender "I mean more like tall, you grew a lot taller since the last time I saw you!" He clarify and her eyes wide.
"Oh? O-Oh! Y-yeah, I get it." Twilight decides to play along and chuckles nervously as she scratches her cheek and looks away from him. For a couple of minutes the tension became palpable as both of them seemed to know something the other might or might not know and weren't sure how or even if they should talk about it.
"So…" pretending to cough Mark managed to recover first "Even when I didn't stay too long in Ponyville, you still see me as a friend?" He forces himself to look her in the eyes as he tries to change the subject.
"We all do." Twilight sits at the side of his bed, "Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and especially Rainbow Dash. We all see you as a good friend, we still do." She looked slightly hurt. "You didn't?"
"What? No! I mean yeah! I mean! He sighs and tries to calm himself, "Twilight I would forever be in your debt for everything you did for me. The day I suddenly appeared in Equestria, I was downright terrified."
He look down in reminiscent "Alone in a strange world of fantasy, cold, scared, hungry, disoriented...and with the pain of a broken arm" Mark sigh and close his eyes "Frankly I don't know what would have happen if Rainbow and Pinkie haven't found me that day"
He looks up and opens his eyes at her "I was a complete stranger, a never before creature standing in front of you. It was sheer luck we had the same language. I still find it hard to believe how fast you all decided to help me. For a moment there I thought my life would be spent on the run, as a weird monster outcast, or some type of lab experiment."
Twilight smiled and grabbed one of his hands. "We would have never done that, different or not, you needed help, sure we were cautious at first but once we saw you didn't mean any harm of course we all eager to become really good friends with you at that very moment."
"Kind of fast, don’t you think? We have only met for two days by then." He raised an eyebrow and she couldn't help but laugh at the memory and roll her eyes
"Oh Mark, one of these days I need to tell you the story on my very first day in Ponyville." She gets sad once more and stares down "Maybe I would have told you sooner if you had only stayed a little bit longer."
"Twilight please don't bring this again. I told you how much I hate the idea of being a parasite and well...I still needed to process a lot of things. There were a lot of emotions going through my head and I simply..."
He sigh and look at the window were some birds were passing by "...I always wanted to explore the world and learn all I can from it." He smiled and looked back at the hand she was still holding , rubbing her cutie mark with his thumb "I lost my home, my family, the friends I had before. To a degree I even lost my identity as a human being, I just needed to grab on to something, a proof that I didn’t lose all I knew. I just couldn’t let go of my dream. It…it was the last thing I had left."
"I-I'm not trying to guilt trip you or anything!" Twilight adds in alarm "I fully understand by Celestia sake I know, ok don’t know exactly how that feels but I know what is like to be yanked away from everything you knew. You were never a prisoner, if you really wanted to explore the world then I was more than happy, heck I really enjoy the letters you send from time to time, while they last. '' She gave him a side glance as he chuckled nervously and looked away.
"You just repelled an invasion and started to build a school for friendship. I really didn't think it was the time. And frankly part of me though you had already forgotten about me by then. For pit sake Twilight, yes it was something incredible but you were the princess of Friendship with thousands of friends all over the world, take away my looks and I become just another drop on the bucket."
"Is that part of the human mentality you told me once? How on Earth establishes a deep friendship that can take time to fully form? " She asks with neutrality.
"...Yeah unfortunately, mostly it is a matter of trust. You can’t give it away blindly either, those things take time…and consider everything I I don't exactly know when but at some point I thought that my letters might have come across as obnoxious, I wasn’t ready to open up to others yet and when I left began to think you would see me more like 'that guy we help that time.'"
His eyes widened in horror when he heard her sniff "So you had so little faith in our friendship after all."
"Twilight please, try to understand."
"Oh I think I understand." She stood up "I understand you thought so little about all of us that decided to ignore us rather than face your fears." She turns around around and head to the door
"Twilight stop! Let me explain."
"I think you explain enough, good day Mr. Mayor."
"I really meant it when I promised you I would return to Ponyville after I was done visiting Canterlot!" He finally yells in an attempt for her to stop which result yet she remain looking forward as she stay on the frame
"Then why didn't you keep that promise?" She ask in a barely audible whisper
"Because if I had, I would have never been able to see any of you on the face ever again."
It was Twilight's turn to look at him surprised as she cleaned some tears and looked back at him while Mark lifted the book. "I never once forgot all that you taught me, to be kind, to make others smile, to see the worth of friendship and how it must be treasure and practice with honesty and loyalty. I might have feared you forgot me, but I sure never forget about you and all of your teachings." He look at her with determination as she stay quiet
"My plan was to ask for your help. I achieved my dream, I saw the world, I learned so many things and made so many friends along the way. That I felt ready to go back hom...to go back to the place where everything started. Try and see if you remember and..."
He shrugs and chuckles "...I don't know what next frankly, maybe ask for a job as the janitor at your school? I really didn't know where to go from there. I only knew that I was fully intended to meet you again and if in the end you truly forgot about me or were just too busy then I would just go find a house of my own and start working at something. At least until I come up with a new plan" He smile calmly as she slowly approach the bed once more "...but then"
"What happened?" Twilight asks more than a little intrigued at this point. "Mark, what made you decide to stay here in Canterlot and run for mayor?"
"I can't tell, I promise Drusy..."
"It's ok Mark." Drusilla step into the room with her arm cross looking at the princess with sorrow "You can tell her, all things considered I believe it only fair that your friend knows"
"Are you really ok with me telling her about Druid?" He asks in worry as Drusila nods and stands next to him
"I have already grieved, you don't need to worry about me."
Twilight keeps taking glances between the two, too scared to insist on asking for the story. Luckily she didn't have to wait long, as with a shared nod, both human and Thestral turned to look at her.
"Twilight please don't think less of Canterlot or the Princess for what I'm about to tell you, there was no way she knew what was happening under her city or who was ruling it." Mark start and Drusilla continues
"A vile snake looking only after filling his pockets and a class S discriminating asshole, with a silver tongue" The Thestral didn't make no attempt whatsoever to hide the venom and rage toward said pony.
"The previous mayor of Canterlot basically, a pony that exemplifies the shallow image of high class Canterlot used to project, one that I have the misfortune of meeting very well, and for the sake of the values that you taught me. Someone I simply couldn't stand getting away with tramping over my friends any second longer"
Mark clench his fist in anger "Get comfortable Twilight, because this isn't exactly a short or happy story" He warns her as she takes a seat and brace herself for the tale.
While Mark was in the middle of telling Twilight the story of his time in Canterlot, Dr. Gerald came to the room and had to cut the visit short as he needed to tend to his patient. Much to Twilight’s frustration.
Promising to continue the story once he was done, Mark left, leaving an awkward tension between the princess and Drusilla who didn't know what to say.
"So...you met because of a room for rent?" Twilight tries to make some small talk as the thestral nods "Most likely the cheapest room Canterlot had to offer at the time, considering how it was located on the poor section of town."
"I still find hard to believe that is even possible I never once heard of such a thing as Canterlot having a poor section"
"Not surprising, really" She crosses her arms and looks away "I bet not even the princesses knew about it. Mayor Silver worked really hard on keeping his dirty little secrets in the shadows."
Feeling extremely guilty from having ignored such a problem in Canterlot, Twilight wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but didn't know where to start.
Luckily the tension was gone when the rest of the mane six arrived, fully intending to visit Mark too. The next hour was spent with introductions, asking permission and then getting everyone in the room up to date with everything that has transpired.
Needless to say, Mark was surprised to see the mane gather in his room once again. Pinkie didn't waste time in giving him a strong hug minding the bulging stomach she was sporting underneath her pink apron and blue long dress with party images all over it. Yet his surprise pales in comparison to the Dr. who probably haven't noticed the visitors yet and was still staring at the charts on his clipboards in disbelief.
"Is everything in order, Dr. Gerald?" Mark asks him with some worry.
"Hmm? Oh Y-Yeah everything is fine...abnormally fast." He mumbles the last part to himself "Mr. Mayor, I have to double check some diagnosis, do you mind waiting a little bit longer before I discharge you?"
"Sure" He replied with a shrug, "It looks like I have some catching up to do with some friends anyway."
"Thanks." Gerald nods and leaves the room as Mark approaches his bed with a big smile.
"I'm so glad to see all of you girls, really." Mark sits at the base of the bed and admires how much all of his friends have changed over the years. Rarity still looked as radiant as ever, wearing a dark purple vest, giving her a more professional appearance. Dash was wearing a scarf and avian sweater on top of her blue jeans. Fluttershy was still wearing the same outfit he met her in so long ago with the only difference being how she combed her mane into a ponytail. Finally Applejack was still as ripped as he remember with her sternson hat, dotted shirt with a knot on the front that show not only her belly but also her ripped six pack her slightly worn out short jeans and the most recent addition to her clothing, Granny Smith’s old bandana which she wore with pride over her shoulder, just like her grandma before her.
"Just look at you, all grown up, imposing and ready to establish a brand new kingdom, impressive is being generous, you are about to create history very soon! There are a ton of things to talk about. Starting with..."
He brings his hands together and points at Pinkie belly "May I touch your belly? And in which month are you now?"
"Awww of course you can touch my belly and Cheese and I are on our 4th..." Pinkie start rubbing her belly when Dash interrupt
"Sorry Pinkie as much as I would like to let you tell the story, I believe there is another one still pending." She then looks at Mark neutrally. "Twilight told us why you never came back to us, something about never being able to face us if you did?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
With a defeated sigh he nods and looks down. "I never meant to hurt you girls, I fully intended to go back to Ponyville, even though I wasn't even sure if you’d still remember me, or even if I should even try to approach or not. I wasn't exactly part of your inner circle after all"
"Even if you weren't our closest friend we still would have received you with open arms, sugar cube." AJ was quick to mention, "Heck I might have offered your old job back while you figured out what to do next."
While she speaks Pinkie sits next to him and grabs his hand before bringing it under her shirt so he could rub his hand directly into her belly catching him off guard as he looks at his hand and then at her as she smiles calmly at him and nod "I would have love to throw you a party, oh! We have lots of parties to catch up on! And you are invited to my baby shower, no backsies, you are definitely coming to this one as sorry for missing all the others!" She points out with a giggle, making him relax and even get slightly startled when he feels a kick as he stares at the belly once more. “Little Cheese also wants you there” Pinkie smile while holding the hand that was on her belly
"Thanks Pinkie, all of you actually, I sure don't deserve having friends like you girls." He wiped a tear from his face with his free hand before continuing. "Anyway, as Rainbow said there was a story pending and..." He takes a glance at Drusilla who nods "...since Drusy is ok with it, I'll tell you exactly why I stayed and eventually became the new mayor of Canterlot."
Taking his hand away he looked at the window in a reminiscent sigh "It all started 6 years ago when I was still a wide-eyed innocent human, eager to learn from the last stop on my tour around the world. The prestigious and refined city Rarity always loved to rave about"
They all took a knowing glance at Rarity "What? It is the most glamorous, cultured and refined city of them all"
"JA, maybe if you are a tourist." Drusilla couldn't help herself as she hugged herself and tensed up, surprising not only Rarity but also Twilight.
"Come again dear?" the fashionista asks, not sure she heard the thestral right.
"Please don't be so hard of them Drusy, they simply didn't know"
"Know what? I lived all my childhood in this city and while I wouldn't exactly describe it like that, it is not a bad place to live." Twilight defends herself.
"Correction Twilight, it is a great place to live ...if you are rich."
"And a unicorn." Drusilla finishes.
"It's ok girls, neither of you knew how things really ran around here but well...the thing is..." Mark tries to find the right words until Drusilla decides to answer for him.
"Unlike you Princess Twilight who spent your childhood inside the castle, or you Ms. Rarity who checked all the boxes in social standards, life here wasn't exactly easy for creatures like me and Mark. Even with your efforts to make the place more accepting of other species." She explains pointing at both of them.
"What?!" Both mares exclaim in disbelief as Mark nods.
"Just because it wasn't in plain sight doesn't mean corruption wasn't present, Twilight. It was only well hidden. I'm sorry you had to find out like this, but despite your efforts, Canterlot still holds on to a strong ideology of projecting an image of elegance and high class no matter what, with minor exceptions here and there to fool the rest of the world. Like that restaurant Rarity and Pinkie help[ed get started for example, sure it works now, but what you don't know is how locals view it more as an exotic eccentricity of the city rather than an honest and elegant establishment, something out of place to 'help everything else shine brighter.'"
He nods once with a small smile. "Thank god the owners of said restaurant let me work there when I arrived, too. Saffron and Coriander were the only decent ponies that didn't sneer at me for the idea of being a strange creature, broke and looking for a job."
"Why did you ever search for one in the first place, sugarcube?" AJ raised a hand, intrigued by the idea.
"It is mostly my routine when I visit a town, meet the locals, find any odd jobs available, explore the place, earn some money and once I have enough, move to the next location." He explains with a shrug "It worked everywhere else I went, but with Canterlot finding both a job and place to stay was a whole new type of ordeal, I tell you. And no Twilight I wasn't gonna ask either the princesses or your parents." He stops her before she can say anything. "The point was to make a living by my own hands not crashing on some friend's couch."
"Go on." Twilight nods, slightly frustrated but decides to let him do things his way.
Anyway, in addition of giving me a job, Saffron Masala, the co-owner of the place was kind enough in telling me where I could find a room to rent in the lower class district of Canterlot"
"Ah Canterlot doesn't have a lower class district" Twilight points out, making Drusilla laugh and shake her head "By Celestia’s mane, you really DID grow up in the castle." She comments, much to the princess' growing concern and the rest of the ponies' shock.
"Be nice Drusy, chances are not even Cel…"Mark stops when Drusilla gives him a side glare and he pretends to cough "I mean not even the Princesses were fully aware on how that part of the city was really being used, or even how that was the name everyone gave it. You see girls, outside the ones living there, most ponies knew that place as the Mercy Heart District."
"Mercy Heart? But darling that is the section of Canterlot reserved for aiding the general public. There is nothing there but hospitals, orphanages, and housing for the homeless." Rarity mentions and starts to dread when Mark and Drusilla only give her a sorrowful gaze.
"Oh please tell me that wasn't just a front"
"Oh no, it's not that serious. That district is still filled with those facilities and it is very well kept. The princesses themselves can attest to that" Mark was quick to calm them down when he saw Fluttershy on the verge of crying.
"The problem is that it was also used to house every creature else that didn't fit the profile Canterlot wanted to show." Drusilla clarifies while crossing her arms.
"What?!" The mares all yell and Mark shushes them in anger "Hospital! Remember!" He harshly whispers at them with a scowl. making them compose themselves and blush at the outburst.
Once relaxed Mark continued. "Don't get me wrong, Mayor Silver did decent work keeping the status quo, but even if subtle, the corruption was there, and the more time I spent in that district, the more clear it became."
"Mark, I'm starting to get afraid to ask but…what exactly was going on in the Mercy Heart District?" Twilight asks after gulping from fear.
"Lots of things, but the most prominent one I saw was extortion. Very few ponies know this but in that district there are a handful of residential buildings spread around. The rent was more accessible if one was ok with sharing a room." Mark shrugs and then smiles as he looks at Drusilla who rolls her eyes and sighs in frustration.
"Here we go."
"And that is how I managed to meet Druid and my best friend here, Drusilla. Who, believe it or not, wasn't the smiling face of the party that you see today." For his efforts the thestral lightly punches his shoulder.
"Oh hardy har har." She rolls her eyes as he chuckles.
Their laughter lasts a little while before turning to sorrow. "It was truly a rocky start, but after I finally got settled I really believed things could turn around. Boy was I wrong."
"I can take it from here, Mark, don't worry." Drusilla taps his shoulder before addressing the mares in the room. "Like he said, one night, this weird alien monkey creature came into our life and helped with the rent. Me and my brother always struggled to get by, so having the extra bits was welcome, even when I didn't exactly like to interact much with him."
Mark shrugged at the comment. "No complaints here, we all need our space sometimes."
With a sigh, Drusilla continued "In time I managed to…tolerate the new roommate in our home and for a couple of months everything was fine. Then one random noble decided that our building was a perfect spot to build his latest country club or golf course or some fancy junk, I don't know!" Drusy was getting increasingly angry as she recalled the story. "Something common among those creeps is just throwing bits at us and expecting us to just move around like there is no problem."
"I mean, you were fairly compensated, right? That is the law." Twilight tries to explain, "Evicting others from a perfectly functional structure to construct something with the purpose of solely self enjoyment, especially in that district, is highly illegal!"
"Which I pointed out, as well as the bait and problems the money they offer will entail. Yes, they promised a lot of money, but the problem is, crunching the numbers, that would only last 3 months of rent in the cheapest upper section of Canterlot With how hard finding jobs was the destruction of that building would only result in all that lived there ending in a homeless refugee no matter what happened." Mark elaborated.
"Then they couldn't go through with it, right?" AJ asked, but the human only shook his head.
"Like I said, subtle, but corrupted, the mayor was the snake that he was. Always found ways around the law to help his peers get what they want. No matter how we plead the case, he had the bits. He would always have the means to drown us in legal procedures that would drain us of all we had in weeks. One way or another, they will always get their way."
"Despite that, Druid never lost hope. He fought tooth and nail." Drusilla sniffed as starting to tear up, "He studied, he got his hands on every single book of law that he could, trying to fight that bastard! He fought for our home, stirring the right pots and talking with everycreature that might help and give us the time."
"He really had a way with words and made quick friends. You would be proud, Twilight. He was a real example of the magic of friendship." Unable to hold her tears back, Mark brings Drusilla close and hugs her frame, letting her vent and calm down as he continues. "I just couldn't leave after seeing how they were struggling with how many thestrals, donkeys, griffins…lots of creatures were struggling, Twilight. Canterlot was fake, plain and simple. It needed to be fixed and I…I promised Druid I would help the city he loved so much."
Everyone stays quiet as he wipes a tear and hugs Drusilla tighter. There was no need to say more, the idea was more than clear.
"What happened?" Twilight finally broke the silence with a sorrowful tone.
"A miracle, for all his schemes, treachery, and tricks. Silver never expected a thestral could possibly outwit him. He lowered his guard and Druid exploited it. Before, we couldn't exactly complain to the princesses. The nobles on the surface were following the law to the letter, so there wasn't a case per se. But Druid built a strong case, one that reached their ears and finally brought to light the real face of Mayor Silver. The building was safe and sound at long last, and not only that a new law was passed, that made it impossible for another noble to try to take it once more."
Having calmed down enough, he let go of Drusilla who thanked him and dried her eyes. "I was ready to go back to Ponyville when I heard the news. All those sleepless nights the 3 of us spent trying to build a case, all the effort we put in. The community at large and finally the city itself working together. We were more than ready to party when it was announced the Mayor was removed from office."
"Of course that bastard couldn't even take losing with dignity. He hunted my brother down, ponynapped him and…" She bit her hand at the memory, unable to finish the sentence. "My brother, the bravest thestral I ever knew, an innocent pony with a heart of gold! He was the only one that had the guts to stand against that snake and he…!"
Before she could react, Pinkie, AJ and Fluttershy were hugging her as the four were openly weeping, Mark keeping his gaze down.
"It was the last straw, after…that happened Drusy and I knew this victory wouldn't last. What was stopping another Silver taking control and doing something even worse? We just couldn't blindly put our trust in anyone else, so once elections were announced, in an impulse moment I decided to throw my hat on the ring. A human against five nobles for the job.”
He chuckles a little and looks back at them, "Trust me when I tell you that I never expected to win. When I entered the race, I was fully prepared to lose, my plan was just to inspire everyone to stand their ground and fight for their rights, that no matter if you have or not the bits you have the will to always stand your ground."
"Until dear Drusy here convinced you otherwise and you aimed to win, correct?" Rarity questions with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile.
"Oh no, I was with him." Wiping a tear, Drusilla breaks the hug and chuckles at the memory, "There was absolutely no chance of him winning. I was so sure we were gonna get creamed on the polls that one night I approached Mark and told him. 'Dude, if you, by some miracle, actually win the elections, I will not only turn into your personal secretary, on the very first day in office I will wear nothing but pink!"
"She hates wearing that color." Mark clarified with a small chuckle.
"Imagine my humiliation when we actually won." Drusy passed around a picture from her wallet of them alongside a big group of creatures cheering in front of town hall with Drusilla wearing a bright pink formal suit and an intense blush on her face.
"And that is how I got the greatest secretary in the world who soon after excelled in law school and now holds the best honors degrees and the current record of fastest learner."
"Wait a minute!" Twilight crunches the numbers and shakes her head. "You got a law school degree in only 3 years!?"
"2 actually, and… well… me, and Druid were already studying it, through mail, self taught and no profit internships. So I was allowed to skip most of the lessons, and go straight to thick exams the size of my head encapsulating the semester to prove I was qualified to skip them." Drusilla clarifies with a shrug.
"And ever since then she has been helping me clean up the mess Silver created for so many years. She really has been the brain behind all of my projects, actually."
"Oh it's nothing, he is the man with the plan. I simply take care of the legal paperwork and map the procedures to make it a reality." She dismisses the compliment with a small blush "What can I say, turns out I was a natural as a secretary and I really like the job, being one rocks and turns out that he and I made a pretty kick ass team running this city."
"Heck yeah we do!" He and Drusy fist bump in confidence. "So you see now Twilight, that is why I never returned, there was a lot to clean up and before I realized, there was a lot of work to do. Friends to help, a city to protect. I'm not asking for forgiveness, I just ask you to please try to understand."
The girls look at one another before nodding and bring the human into a group hug. "Of course we understand, silly." Pinkie is the first to speak.
"What you are doing is extremely kind, this is exactly the type of lessons we always wanted to spread to the world!" Fluttershy continues.
"What you did was awesome dude, if I could you totally would have got my vote." Dash lightly punched his shoulder.
"I for one appreciate what you did dear Mark, Canterlot has always had a special place in my heart, but now you have ensured its glamor shines even brighter."
"If anypony gets what it’s like to lose a family member, it’s me." AJ looks at Drusilla "I get why you stayed. I bet if Druid could see his sister he would be beaming with happiness."
"Thanks Ms. Applejack." Drusilla nods before Pinkie brings her to join the group hug.
"There is only one thing I'm curious about." Twilight ends the hug and looks at Mark confused.
"What happened to Mayor Silver at the end?"
Drusilla and Mark exchange a worried look and they briefly recall a memory. One of the both standing in the rain with Mark hugging a crying Drusilla who keeps glaring at the former mayor as the unicorn lays on the floor on a puddle of water and blood and one missing eye, the same blood was on Mark's clenched fist. A flash of lightening revealing the murderous glare he was giving the mayor.
"Some...stories are better left untold Twilight." Mark finally reply
"Yeah, trust me, just know that he eventually was caught, arrested and is rotting on a dungeon someplace in the castle"
They all agree, accepting the explanation minus Twilight, who was still intrigued to hear the rest of that story but before she could press the issue the doctor returned to the room.
"Sorry for interrupting, but I need to talk with the mayor alone. So could everypony please…" He motioned to the door behind him.
"Oh of course, we can talk later, lets go everypony." AJ says and soon Mark is left alone with the doctor who takes a seat in front of him.
"So what is it doctor? Is everything ok?"
"Actually it is, and that is exactly the thing." Gerald began scanning through his notes one final time. "Mr. Mayor, despite not suffering broken bones, your injuries were considerable. The extension of your bruises alone would have put in so much pain even with the drugs and spells. We had to make a minor surgery to patch your stomach after it ripped from the punches and your nervous system was in a very delicate state. That last one was why we insisted you take one day of observation."
"Wow, that sounds painful and serious."
"And that is the thing, that was yesterday's chart, but seemingly out of nowhere all your injuries simply vanished!" He shows the new chart with everything seemingly in the clear "Your bruises are fully healed, your internal injuries are scarred and patched almost like they were never there, and somehow your nervous system seems to have rejuvenated a little. In all my years as a doctor I have never seen a patient recover so fast."
He put the chart on the table and crossed his fingers, "So I have to ask, is there something you would like to tell me sir?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, "Some detail you might have omitted about the human race?"
Knowing he was corner Mark could only sigh and look down, "For the record, I did try to tell you I was fine yesterday, but well I suppose there is no point in keeping it hidden...Dr. Gerald how much do you know about a carnivorous diet?"
"I know that it is rich in protein, but last I checked it doesn't influence the healing process."
"It does if you are a human," Mark replied, again catching his attention, "I'm sorry for not telling you, the notion that I can consume meat has always been a delicate subject to discuss."
"I understand, please proceed."
Heher highness, you really missed this last part of your plan. Eh, no big deal I'm sure I can come up with something. Mentally shrugging Mark continues with his 'explanation'.
"You see doctor, we humans have this obscure organ right around here." He points to his left side of his abdomen, "It’s called the pancreas, it doesn't do virtually anything. At first glance one would think it just an extra organ but if the body is injured it fills this function somehow. You see the pancreas functions as a protein reserve where a portion of the meat I consume is stored. If my body has been injured and in the recent days prior or after I consume that. The pancreas takes all that protein and converts it into hyper charge white cells. One that has a very short life span but while in my system they accelerate the healing of almost anything. Kind of impressive don't you think?"
"I say." He nods a couple of times "So that is why then. You should have told me all that sooner Mr. Mayor, I would have arranged a change on your meals and I had to run the test twice believing all the equipment we had suddenly broke simultaneously." He mentioned with a stern look.
"Sorry, like I said, I know how uncomfortable I can make others when talking about this subject so most of the time I avoid it."
Hehehe, and the Oscar goes...
"It's ok, at least everything makes sense once more. Now I'm kind of envious having such a useful organ ready to aid you is a huge asset."
"Evolution as a hunter doctor, simple as that." Mark explains with a shrug "So does that mean I can be discharged?"
"I don't see why not. I would only need to sign some release papers and you will be good to go."
“Awesome!” They both stood up and headed to the door. "Because I have tons of catching up to do with some old friends."
"...And then once I secured the rope to my hips I jumped from the deck into a free fall right into the inferno that was the falling enemy ship. By that point it was split in two and yet was still exploiting left and right. My focus was solely aiming straight at the captain trying to close the gap between us as fast as I could before I lost her between the smoke and the debry, catching her just in time for the fire to lick both my arms and her back as the rope tensed and saved us both from a crispy end. The recoiled impact almost made me drop her for a brief second before I tightened the hug as the crew pulled us back into the ship."
Mark finishes recalling a tale of his past travels while he and the rest of the mares stop at a local coffee shop and decide to catch up and exchange past adventures.
By the time he was done, even Drusilla was fully invested in the adventure he had sailing among pirates while traveling through the badlands.
"What happened next!?" Dash has been the one most invested and eagerly getting very close to Mark as he chuckles and lightly pushes her away.
"Nothing worth mentioning really, after that last encounter with Captain Fangs, everything was smooth sailing and Captain Celaeno was kind enough to 'pay her pirate debt' as she put it and agreed to give me a ride to Hippogriffia free of charge as long as I kept it to myself why they were in the middle of the desert in the first place, and told me that I was welcome on her crew anytime if our paths ever cross again."
"And are you sure you can't tell us exactly why they were in there in the first place?" AJ asks with a raised eyebrow.
Mark only shakes his head and takes a sip from his coffee, "Sorry AJ, a pact is a pact. But don't worry, it wasn't anything illegal if that's what you were thinking."
"I can't believe it, you actually had a real PIRATE adventure." Dash continued to gush about. "Aght, what I give just to join you!" She laments as everyone laughs for a while.
"Looks like you had quite the adventure exploring the world partner." AJ mentions after drinking from her cup, "Now I really wished you kept sending those letters years ago. Some of those stories could become great chapters in a book."
"Nah, I'm not Daring Doo, but thanks, and I'm sorry I involuntarily cut connections with you girls." Mark apologizes, staring at his mug, "I just…aght I don't know, I suppose part of me thought it was kind of weird or maybe you were just being polite, but were getting sick of hearing someone you help saying 'thank you' over and over again. I even considered that it might have looked a bit dependent." He mumbled the last part with some embarrassment.
"In your defense, it might have looked a little like that, yeah." Drusilla points out, "Sure it is nice staying pen pals, and yeah after having first contact, nurse you to health and get to know them it is natural building a bit of a connection and all, but come on. You were in Ponyville for only 5 months, you weren't exactly THAT close to them, you didn’t have an obligation to write every day."
"Hey, don't forget we are called the pillars of friendship for a reason, five months is more than enough time to become very good friends with anyone." Dash points at her, "But yeah, can't exactly keep blaming him that much, he simply didn't know us that well yet." She shrugged in agreement.
"Anyway, I might have had one or two adventures here and there, but boy are those nothing compared to some of the news I heard about you while I was visiting Zebrika or Saddle Arabia. I mean Pinkie, did you actually grow briefly into a ten floor tall giant mare to summon a giant muffin?!"
"Nope, it was only nine floors tall. " She corrected before giggling.
"Sounds like we all have plenty to catch on." Twilight plays with her spoon as a small smile forms. "Mark, now that the air has cleared up, you don't need to feel forced to do so but…I really would love it if we could resume chats like this more often."
"You mean like becoming more active pen pals?" He raised an eyebrow. Drusilla slowly looks at Twilight suspiciously as the princess shakes her head.
"More like if we could reunite to have some tea and chat, like with Fluttershy and Eris." She mentions using them as an example.
"Oh yes, that sounds like a great idea!" Fluttershy agrees with a couple of nods, "That way we can stay in contact and build more of our friendship."
"Plus the treats!" Pinkie adds on.
"What do you say, partner? Would you like to visit us from time to time before moving to New Harmonious?" AJ suggested.
"That sounds like fun, I would have to reschedule my agenda, but I'm sure I could find the space." Mark agrees with a smile.
"Speaking of which." Drusilla looks at her clock and stands up, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we have to cut this chat short. Me and Mark need to attend to a pressing issue."
"He just got discharged! Can't you give yourself one day off?" Dash complains.
"It's regarding the assault." Drusilla points out with a deadpan, "As a government agent this case has more pressing matters than a civil attack, as crude as that sounds. Matters that are of the essence to sort it out as quickly as possible."
Understanding Mark rises up as well, at the same time that Twilight does, "Agreed, this case needs to be dealt with efficiently, fast and methodically. It would be best if I start working…"
Drusilla stops her by raising a hand, "Sorry your highness, this is a private Canterlot case, unless permitted by the princess…"
"…We can't intervene." Twilight finishes in realization, "Okay, in that case, we can talk once you have the time?"
"Sure." Mark nods and pulls out his phone "Do you guys have…?"
"Way ahead of you Marky!" Pinkie takes it and in a lightning fast way adds the contacts of all six of them before handing it over, "I personalized them too!"
"Wait this phone only allows words, how did you manage to draw your cutie marks next to your names?" Mark asks in shock at her handy work as she gives her a knowing glance "Right, don't question it."
"Bye Marky, and remember you are totally coming to my baby shower!" She reminds him one last time as everyone waves goodbye at him and Drusilla who was slowly pulling him away from the coffee shop.
"Can you believe it Drusilla? The main six. I mean sure, they are really friendly mares and easy to approach, but they actually wanted to keep me as a close contact, I would have never imagined that I left that deep of an impression on all of them." Mark turns back one last time before he follows Drusilla who lets him go.
"Neither do I, especially from Princess Twilight." She starts to hum and keep her gaze low bringing her index and thumb into her chin deep in thought.
That makes the human pause momentarily as he looks at her before resuming his march "Drusy, didn't we agree we would drop the subject?"
"That was before she brought it back up." She points behind them with her head, "Besides it's just a hunch, but how things are I'm starting to question if friendship is the only thing the princess is after."
Mark's eyes are wide in shock and snippets of last night's return, particularly how the princess seems to have had antics like the ones Twilight used to have while he was in Ponyville. "Drusy you don't actually think…Twilight…but she…?…Twilight?!" He repeated looking back and forward between her and the shop.
"Like I say it just a hunch, but when I arrived she seemed particularly hurt when you didn't come back to Ponyville, how she wanted to know more about you. And lastly how she actually suggests a regular get together."
"What's odd about that?"
"Right, you were probably too far to hear the rumors, but there was a time where ponies talk about how Fluttershy and Eris seem to have been an item."
"Fluttershy and Eris are…?!"
"Just a rumor that was proved false, they are just close friends. Eris isn't interested in those kinds of relationships. Turns out the rumor of Fluttershy being interest in intimacy was true while Eris was…well asexual. She proudly announces it in the…weirdest toast ever." Drusilla clarifies before he gets to ask more questions, "But getting back on track, those meetings were the cause that started the rumor in the first place, not to mention overall Twilight’s behavior seems a tad odd, especially with how eager she seems to strengthen your bonds, princess of friendship or not."
"But, this is Twilight we are talking about! I don't think there is anyone that loves rules more than her, and what we…" He shook his head, "What I and whichever princess did last night, was kind of taking a risk. If we were caught on the moment of doing something we shouldn't, and the piercing!"
"It's always the quiet ones, Mark." She smirks at her, "Don't you think it makes sense? A mare that spent all her life following the rules bending them a little and keeping things on a list, wouldn't it really be that hard to believe that she will find the idea of breaking them and be quote on quote “naughty” even a little thrilling? For her to take a spin into the 'wild side' of things."
"I…suppose?" Mark mentions still not completely convinced.
"Plus seems to run on the family, remember Twilight Velvet's proposal of installing a zipline from here to Ponyville?"
"Oh yeah she was heartbroken when I had to tell her how it would reach terminal velocity halfway there and would just kill anyone that tries it. Still it helps propose the idea of a sky gondola." He recalls with a shrug.
"Words of a true thrill seeker, and let us not forget about Twilight's brother."
"What about Shining Armor?"
"Mark please, he was Princess Cadence personal guard, before being promoted to Captain, they were taking risks, and the general public could have easily slandered them both for their actions despite their position of power. Sounds familiar?"
It slowly dawns on him, but when it does, his jaw falls. " So if Twilight was…Oh my god it really DOES run in the family."
"Yep, but like I say it's just a hunch so far. I'm just saying we better keep an eye on the Princess."
"Oh no, and the list, she probably still thinks I'm interested…" Drusilla stops him once more.
"It was determined to be placed on hold, any candidates can't apply while under an investigation, victim or suspect. So don't worry there is still time, in the meantime, let’s go to the police station, this was supposed to be done tomorrow, but the faster we put extra security around you, the better."
"Yeah I was meaning to ask, you told me there were some issues that needed to be taken care of, exactly what is gonna happen now?"
Drusilla accelerates their pace and grabs his arm, "Besides adding extra security around you, there is a plan to set a trap for those bastards that hurt you. So they will have to fill you in." She tells with a smirk. "Don't worry it is fool proof."
"Drusy, tell me you didn't offer yourself as bait or something stupid like that."
She doesn't respond and just refuses to make eye contact. "Drusy you didn't do that, right? DRUSY!"
"You'll see, don't worry, ok?!" She finally replies as they finally reach the building.
The next day, right after the sun rises
Preparing her speech, princess Luna practiced her speech as she stands behind a podium awaiting for the curtains to split open so she could address not only the press, but the public in general who was informed and gather unusually quick, backstage Mark and Drusilla were getting some minor make up and stand to attention for when they were gonna be called in.
"Remind me again why Princess Luna is doing this speech?"
"I told you sir, the assault happened under her shift as Princess of Canterlot. Therefore it falls on her responsibility to address the general public and ease any worries that might surge as a result. It is a way to remind everyone that she is still a princess of the night and uphold her vow of keeping them secure and peaceful." The thestral reminds him.
"I still feel bad for forcing her to stay up so late. The poor mare is probably beyond exhaustion at this point." Mark looked at her in pity yet Drusilla was noticing something else.
"Yeah you are right, she should be exhausted and yet…she seems well rested and prepared, in fact. She came to the station looking for us and offering her help pretty fast. Almost like she knew you were gonna be discharged that same day."
At that moment Mark remembered the promise the princess made him two nights ago.
Luna? Was that you?
"Ms. Drusilla, are you sure this is the only way? Maybe we should think of another alternative and…"
"It is our best chance sir, we need to set a trap that your attackers simply can't ignore. Besides;'' She gets closer to him. "Consider the situation even if she is our mare, I highly doubt she would want to discuss THAT other issue."
"Hope you’re right Ms. Drusilla, hope you’re right." Mark nods and the curtains finally open, letting plenty of camera flashes to take pictures of the princess as she addresses the public.
"Citizens of Canterlot!" Luna raises her arm and speaks loudly to get everyone's attention before speaking normally, "I thank you for your assistance, despite having so short notice, as I have urgent news to discuss. As some of you might have now, I'm ashamed to inform during my watch two nights ago, our beloved mayor was ambushed and attacked, by discontent nobles.''
A collection of gasps and a huge number of flashes go off as Luna allows the audience to recover for a couple of minutes before continuing. "I thankfully say attackers were lacking any power in physical damage and his injuries were minimal. Allowing the mayor to make an impressive fast recovery, and only made his resolve in determination on servicing the city and continue his campaign of aid and improvement. As he is eager to demonstrate by speaking with you right away, not shaken at all by the actions of the cowards, resorted to such shameless actions."
"Ja! That would surely make their blood boil." Drusilla smirks as she scans the audience to see if she can spot any unusually angry pony.
"And that is just the entrance, wait until you see this." Mark speaks in confidence as he goes to the podium by Luna invitation, the press going nuts taking pictures of him, more so when he shaked Luna’s hand
"I can't thank you enough for all this help, your highness."
"Please think nothing of it, my dear friend." She replied with a calm smile while casting a partial illusion spell so no pony could hear the next part. "If I could, I would be chasing those attackers myself, but since my position prevents me, toying with their minds, it would be the next best thing." She smirks lightly as she ends the hand shake and steps aside, "Now let's break the news and stir some pots." She nods at him and ends the spell allowing him to speak up.
"People of Canterlot, just as our majesty here said. Not too long ago I was attacked by those discontent with my position in office. A sad and pitiful action to say the least. Freedom of speech is more than welcome and I completely understand that not all of you might like it. But resorting to violence is and will never be the answer for when things don't go your way." He slammed the podium for enfasis.
"Those that attack me, can only be described as cowards and toddlers whining for things not going their way nor caring the opinion of the public. Among their threats, they tried to intimidate me, call me names, demanding I step out of office and overall thinking I can be intimidated into doing what they say."
The press inches closer as camera flashes fly around, for his reply. "I come to tell you that their threats will fall on deaf ears and would only serve to tighten my resolve on bringing Canterlot into a better tomorrow! No creature is above the law, my victory was fair and I was chosen by all of you to lead and serve. A trust I would never break, so to my attackers if any of you are listening. know this.” He gets closer to the mic, "Enjoy your last night of peaceful slumber, because the royal guard is on the case, they will hunt you down, they will find you and when they do. I guarantee. You all will be judged fair and just under charges of assaulting a government agent."
Stepping back Mark let’s Luna speak once more as the reporters were frantically shouting for comments and question about what would be the policy he would impliment to reprehend the criminals, if he suspect anyone and even a couple of them asking if rumors of him hunting them down in person are true as well as asking if he will do the same he did to Mayor Silver years ago.
All of that suddenly stop when Princess Luna raised her hand and made everyone pay attention to her as she braced herself to drop the biggest bomb of the evening.
"All this suffering just to try to send a message would not be tolerated and would only result in a message of my own." Luna talks with a cold gaze and deadly seriousness. "An attack on a public servant is an attack on Canterlot, something neither I nor my sister will be blind by. Effective immediately and until the ones responsible for such cowardly actions are brought to justice, Mayor Mark will reside inside the castle palace as my honored guest." She proclaims with a smile as the press goes wild with questions.
Drusilla smirks as she scans the area trying to spot anyone acting up.
"And that is just the preview you bastards, go ahead and try to attack me, see how well that goes."
Meanwhile a pony poked his head from an alley and took out his phone. "Boss, we have a problem." He tells in worry.
"No we do not." To the pony surprise the stallion on the other side replied calmly.
"But boss…"
"I know what just happened, the human decided to put on quite the show, not what we intended, but we can work with that. Now come back to the hideout before someone spots you."
The pony complies and leaves on the cover of shadows.
"Again with those weird 80's style dreams. The hell is going on with me?"
Sighing in frustration and holding his head he looks around before relaxing and remembers his current situation as he takes a glance at the pile of trunks stacked together in a corner of the very luxurious room with only the one containing his clothes and basic necessities open.
The chaos of last night after Luna announcement rally the press to no end as they didn't waste time in chasing them all the way to his home where they were just finish packing everything inside, or more accurately Luna used a spell to levitate everything except the floor, walls and roof and pack them all in giant trunks she conjured to save time as she teleport them both away to avoid the mass, but making sure they had pictures of him indeed moving into the castle to post in the papers.
So far that was the easy part of everything that transpired but now that things have calm down enough the weight of the situation has dawned on the human. Speculation of what Drusilla told him about Twilight, and Luna’s friendly behavior and how the latter even offer her home and eagerness to help fairly fast when the plan was starting have left the human question their intention, and play with the idea of if resuming or not his attempt of finding out which royal did he slept with. Not helping with how his strange dreams keep happening and have been gradually increasing in a sexual manner.
Should I even be thinking about it? She herself told me this needed to stop... And yet, the very next day, Twilight came by wanting to be friends again oddly fast. Then there is Luna who Drusy is right; she arrives at the police commission oddly fast. Could it be either of them? Maybe she is trying to send me clues? No, that can't be, she asked me to stop, but…do I want to stop? Does she? Maybe she wants me to make a move now…AGHT!
Holding his head in frustration he sighed and pulled away the covers.
Okay, try to calm down, maybe I'm just overthinking things here, those two are probably just being their normal friendly selves. I need to keep reminding myself that Equestria doesn't work the same as earth…but then again when the princess did visit me in the hospital, and then shoved her gorgeous and succulent…no! focus! He shakes his head with an intense blush.
Keep it together Mark, the press would eat you alive if you even try, it's the end of the story, it has to end while it still can! You can't ruin your friendship just because you were horny, just respond in kind, be friendly and forget anything else that happened!
Ignoring the ache of his heart the human stood up and prepared to start his days as best as he could. Trying to return to his usual routine.
Once he was done showering and changing into his formal clothes Mark made his way through the hallways as the first rays of sunlight shined through the windows. Once he reached his destination he was pleasantly surprised to find Princess Luna about to start her dinner. Still in her formal royal regalia although slightly worn out and her mane slightly messy, as if she was returning from work.
"Ah, mayor Mark, good morning." She waved at him with a calm and relaxed demeanor, "So glad to be able to catch you before I retire for the day. By all means," She extended her hand to one of the empty seats in the table, "take a seat and join us for this meal, while we await for my sister."
"Thanks." He grabbed a seat and soon after informed a maid of what he will have for breakfast. "And thanks for letting me stay in the castle for a while."
"Think nothing of it, you are a member of the government after all. Your security is very important for all of Canterlot.'' Luna mentions with a dismissive wave, "Besides, to ponies set bend on removing you from office and view you as unworthy, seeing you spending time in what is considered the peak of luxury, is a sure way to rile them by an enormous degree real fast."
"I understand, and it really sounds like a very solid plan, virtually doing the opposite of what they are demanding and taunting them into doing their worst. But even so I swear it would only be temporary, 3 maybe 4 days tops. Last thing I want is to overstep my welcome and…"
"…Mark, Mark please breathe." Luna reached out to calm him down, "You are overthinking it, really. I assure you, your presence here is no bother whatsoever. Don't feel pressure, and know that you can remain for as much time as needed. Even after the investigation is concluded." She closed her eyes and smiled brightly at him, "You are my very esteemed guest and close friend after all. I would even love to serve you some of my dishes, it will be no problem for me. I like to cook and it might help you relax more."
Her smile lets him calm down somewhat as he chuckles with some heat on his cheeks "Thanks and sorry, I tend to do that. I really hate the idea of being taken advantage of or subconsciously doing the same to somebody else. So when I'm invited to a friend's house I tend to get nervous."
"Completely understandable, don't worry, I will do anything in my power to make the castle as homely as possible." She finishes by raising her cup.
"And in turn I would try to be the best guest possible." He mimicked her action with his own cup as he was just pouring some orange juice.
At that moment Celestia walks in still in her pajamas which consisted of a long light pink short sleeve shirt with the picture of a bunny with a tiara printed on the chest and the words 'Queen Bunny' on top of its head. Pink fluffy slippers, and a white and red jogging pants with heart patterns on it. Her mane was a mess, her wings seemed to have a lot of loose pure white feathers and her tail wasn't fairing better, as it looks like some of the feathers ended up there and in her hair.
With closed eyes and holding a yawn she walked inside scratching the side of her head. After the initial surprise by her appearance, Luna’s eyes widened and then she smiles mischievously as she looks at Mark and raises a finger to her mouth asking him to stay quiet.
Confused, he nods and lets things play out. "Good morning dear sister, did you have a pleasant dream?" Luna asks with a cheerful demeanor.
"Morning sis, I have yeah, say Luna, do you mind if I borrow your preening comb? Molting season came early for me this year and I can't find my comb any..." Finally opening her eyes the princess froze the second she notices Mark looking right at her. "…where."
"Uh…hi?" Mark waved at her, still not completely sure what was happening.
"Good day, mayor Mark. Was there a meeting in the morning I wasn't aware of?" She asked with a raised eyebrow until they both hear the contain snicker of Luna who upon turning to her burst to laugh.
"I'm so-sorry!" She cleared a tear and recomposed before talking again, "I'm sorry sister, in my rush to prepare everything it seems informing you that Mark would be residing with us for the time being while the investigation regarding his aggressors is conducted."
"Luna!" Celestia finally recovered and glares at her sister, yet any attempt to look intimidating was lost not only by her attire but also by the fluster face she was exporting now, as well as the feathers that left her body once she stomped the floor, "These are the kinds of decisions you really should inform me about first!"
She cracked into a fit of laughter once more, "Please believe me, I didn't mean to keep you in the dark, but your expression just now…completely priceless!"
"Oh boy, Celestia, I didn't mean to be a bother. If you prefer I can pack my bags and leave." Mark offers snapping both of the princesses' attention.
"No!" They say at the same time, with oddly fear in their tone much to Mark's confusion.
"I mean;" Luna recovered and pretend to cough before continuing "Please Mark, this is just a very normal and healthy banter between siblings, you don't need to feel responsible for any of that."
"O…k, even so," He turns to Celestia, "will it really be okay with you if I stay here for sometime? It's mostly just to anger the ponies that attacked me so they make a mistake. Last thing I want is taking advantage of you."
"R-Right, because that would be simply wrong. You would only stay here with us that is all, nothing bad with that idea." Celestia replies without blinking adding to the humans confusion before she shakes her head.
"Please pay no mind to my behavior. I'm just slightly startled by the revelation I was informed at literally the very last second. LUNA!" Celestia explains calmly before glaring quickly at her sister who pretends to play innocent and looks away, "But as long as I'm concerned the doors of my home will always be open for you mayor Mark. Especially during such tense times. I have no issue with you staying in the castle as long as you need. Think of yourself as my honored guest." She smiles warmly at him while placing her hand on his shoulder, helping him relax and nods once.
"Hey don't go ahead of yourself Celly, he is MY honored guest." Luna suddenly complained
"He can easily be both of us Luna."
"This is always like you Celly, the second I get something you want me to start sharing right away."
They continue to argue as the rest of Mark's breakfast arrives and he takes the opportunity to lean into the maid that arrives. "Is this normal?" He whispers as to prevent the royal sister from listening.
"Oh no sir, sometimes they argue like a couple of fillies." She quickly replies with a knowing smile before leaving.
"Ah I see…wait what? Then what do you call this?" He continued while pointing at them but the maid was long gone. Once the surprise passed he sighed and simply smiled and decided to just enjoy the show.
Well, at least this is a sure way to kill the tension of living here.
After breakfast was done and everyone went their separate way, Mark was escorted to City Hall as an extra precaution. To his immense relief, there wasn't a mob of reporters waiting to have further information about his new home arrangement and other than the occasional odd glance by the ponies looking at him being escorted everything seemed relatively the same with Drusilla up and ready to start another day at work.
"Morning Ms. Drusy."
"Morning Mr. Mayor." She started to check the list of activities for today.
"Any news on the investigation?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
She shrugged. "Nothing. Mayor, to tell the truth, some complaints here and there of jealous nobles because you have the chance to sleep under the same roof than their secret crushes or trying to butter you up so you can pass along some stupid project of theirs, other than that, everything seems quiet so far, but don't worry with how many clues you gave, arresting the creeps would be a cinch." She snapped her finger for emphasis. "Oh and before I forget, there are a lot of get well presents that ponies brought to you. I say at least half of them coming from mares."
"What makes you so sure, mares send them?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow until he opened the door of his office and saw how it was stuck full of get well baskets with almost half of them colored with bright pink colors, a ribbon, some chocolate and even flowers inside with a note written on it.
"Call it a hunch." Drusy comments with a deadpaned look standing to his right, "Mr. Eligible Bachelor, want my advice? Give me any letter with perfume on it before opening them so I make sure there are not 'get well pictures'. " She says, making air quotes.
"Seriously?! There are mares that would actually try to use this situation as an excuse to score a date?" Mark points at the baskets with in shock while looking at Drusilla who simple shrugs
"Eh, can't really blame them all that much, molting season is around the corner and you know what comes right after that."
He froze in place to remember the state Celestia was in and piece together what comes after molting season. "Heat Week."
"Yep;" Drusilla nods once. "So be careful sir, some mares might have gotten the bug earlier this year."
"I-I will keep that in mind thanks." He nods subconsciously as he goes and inspect some of the baskets.
"So...How are things going in the castle?" She ask with intrigue as they enter their office and he starts to inspect the get well soon baskets, smiling and opening one that has some candy on it, sharing some with Drusilla.
"Hmm? Oh! Y-Yeah everything is fine, still adjusting with waking up around so much luxury but everyone is friendly."
Drusilla raised an eyebrow at his sudden nervousness, "I see and do any of the princess…?"
"Nope! They have been preening…Treating me! with the utmost respect and wanting me to feel comfortable! Nothing else to talk about."
"O…k." Drusilla was still not convinced but decided not to press the issue anymore as he took a seat.
"Anyway, let's get to work! What is in the agenda Ms. Drusilla?"
"Well, there is a press conference at 10, the gourmet alley event at 12, Saffron left a message telling how she is eager to see and show you around."
"Excellent! It will be nice seeing my old boss."
"There is the stallion meeting of awareness and prevention during heat week at sunset. I don't know the location of course." She tells with a roll of her eyes.
"You know why you can't know the place or the plans for that week."
"Sir, with all due respect I'm perfectly capable of controlling my urges during that week."
"You came to work on nothing but your least modest lingerie all week!...And kept pretending to drop your pen."
"See? Self control right there."
Mark only looks at her with a dead pan until she cracks. "Fine! Point taken."
"Thanks, so anything else?"
"Let's see? Oh yeah, Princess Twilight is gonna shadow us today. She wanted to catch up on lost time and decided to work as a pseudo second secretary to see you in action."
"The princess did that?"
"All the mane six actually." She showed him a calendar with their names for each day of the next week.
"Looks like our story really made them want to get to know you better and how you run the place."
"I can't believe it." He takes the calendar and examines the order, "Can they do that? Aren't they busy getting ready to…" He stops mid sentence and hands over the agenda to Drusilla "This is part of the interview for the mayor of New Harmonious isn't it?"
"That was my first guess too, and when I asked her, Twilight didn't deny that it would help but she gave me her word that this is primarily just to spend time with an old friend, and our story cleared the air on how we would not leave. Also I intend to keep an eye on her to see if this is just an excuse to get closer, while using her friends as a smokescreen. Je I will give her this, if it is, that mare is a really crafty one, that move is an oldy but a goody."
Mark raised an eyebrow, "So does this mean you want us to resume solving the mystery?"
"I don't exactly like it, but it seems the princesses don't exactly want to drop it either so we might as well." She replied with a shrug.
Mark brings his thumb and index into his chin and starts to pounder. "I'm not sure anymore Drusy, maybe we should stop it right here and concentrate on other things like who wrote my name into the list of candidates. And this would be an awkward story no matter what, we might miss interpreting the signs and whoever was, she was only being friendly. I don't think she really wants us to continue…right?"
Drusy keeps looking at him confused until her eyes widen and she smirks at him. "Oh I see what you’re doing? You are ashamed/horny, aren't you?"
"W-What are you talking about?!" Mark backs off with a blush on his face.
"Oh don't lie to me Marky I know that face, that is 'I'm too embarrassed to ask' face.'"
"No it is not!"
"Yeah, right." She replied sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, "You’re thirsty aren't you?"
"Yes, NOT!…important right now, she is the ruler, a kind friend, and more importantly OUR BOSS!" He replies earning a pat on the shoulder from his friend.
"So glad you finally understood that, maybe now you would stop addressing them so informally, I hate it when you do that."
"…right" He finally nods having calmed down, "So are we dropping the subject?"
"Do you want us to drop it?"
Mark can only look to the side unsure.
"Yeah that is what I thought. Now, I feel bad from begging you to stop it back then. It's like an itch isn't it? Leaving things half way down really doesn't sit well with you."
"It always drives me crazy, yeah." He finally admit.
She smiled in understanding and put her fist into his chest, "Tell you what, let me handle the awkward talking, we continue, solve the mystery and once we get our mare. I return the piercing, thank her for you and apologies from having to find out. Then we try to work a deal so this doesn't make things tense between the crown and us. What do you say?"
"It…It would make things easier I suppose." He nods in agreement.
"Great! Then let’s get back to work, we'll be late." She inspected her clipboard and started heading out.
"…I kissed her." Mark finally tells not wanting to keep his friend in the dark.
"Excuse me?" Drusilla turns around in time for him to do the same and nods, "I promised not to tell a soul and I would not, but she didn't say anything to our goodbye so I can at least tell you this. Back when I was in the hospital. The reason why I made a record time recovery…"
"The princess visits you at night and cures you? But how? The doctors would have detected any magic…"
Mark raised his hands to stop her, "That is why she made me promise not to tell anyone how it happens, and she was disguised and with a voice filter so I didn't know which princess but one of them would visit me and cure me. She wanted to apologize for her actions, and wanted me to understand so we could leave on better terms. I was ready to do so but I…I just couldn't let it go…not like that."
"So you kissed her when she was leaving." Drusilla finished in disappointment as he nods.
"I'm sorry Drussy I really tried but I…I just needed to at least…"
"Forget it." It was her time to interrupt him, "I know how passionate you can get, even for one night stands." She rolls her eyes and sighs in frustration, "No wonder she is starting to leave clues. Just answer me this, are you developing feelings?"
"I…yes. And that is what is killing me the most. I don't KNOW toward which Princess."
"It's okay, it's okay, we can still sort things out here. But first we would need to make a test." She handed over a folder which confused Mark.
"Tree Hugger? Wait, is this…?!" He looks between the folder and Drusilla as she nods "She sent it earlier. I wanted to inform you once we were done for the day but, I might as well tell you now." She poked the folder a couple of times. "And she is better, cleaner and more discreet than just going to the Red Nylon District."
"Oh yeah, the forbidden street," Mark nods slowly, "but are you sure about this?
"One roll! That’s all I ask, if you have the same feelings, then you only got confused and are simply thirsty."
"And if not?"
"Then you and Shining Armor would soon have plenty in common, and we will have to work in an entirely different conversation with the princess." She closes her eyes and turns around to resume their work.
"Oh?…Oh!"
"So you understand?"
"Sounds a bit extreme, and almost like an excuse to just have sex." He is still unsure.
"Maybe, but really Mark it isn’t that big of a deal in our society and for the media. Mayor hooking up with Mayors is more common than you may think, plus you can't deny that Tree Hugger knows her stuff when it comes to the heart. Which you need and it is a far better option than the alternative. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, which considering you slept with either her aunts, or her sister-in-law, things could be one of three ways. She turns green by the thought of her aunt's naughty side and refuses to even listen. She turns overly joyful and instead of wanting to help you out, she only pressures you into marrying one of them, and starts calling you uncle/brother or…"
"Or?"
"She…gets angry because you slept with a member of her family and just disintegrates you, on the spot." She tells the last part looking away, making everything deadly silent.
"...Tree Hugger it is."
"Yep, that is what I thought." She nods and writes down in her clip board to reserve an appointment with her.
Soon after meeting with Twilight and filling her in with today's activities. The three resume today’s work as best as they could with one of the princesses of Canterlot tagging along under support and research purpose as the excuse giving to the public, with the goal of not raising too many questions.
To their luck everyone seemed pleased by her reasoning and after the mundane conference they were on their way to what Mark was looking forward to the most, today.
"Ah! Gourmet Alley." Mark twirls around once with his eyes closed to take a swift glance of all kinds of aromas spreading across the food district in the city, "How I love this day."
Twilight was also perplexed yet happy as she looked around and took one free sample offered to her for a caramel apple. "I must say this is the first time I ever heard of the entire food district closing their shop and opening stands for anyone to pass by and taste their dishes." She takes a bite of her apple, "Is this another thing I didn't know about Canterlot? Because if it is, I'm gonna need to have a serious talk to both Princess Celestia and my parents for never bringing me or Shining to this food festival."
Drusilla laughs and shakes her head, "Relax your highness, this one they are excused, it's fairly recent actually. You can thank this party for the doofus being carried away by the smell of churros over there." Drusilla points at Mark who slowly made his way to a stand of churros before waiting in line with other kids as they all try to clean the droll on their mouths.
"Pretty cool right? The social classes here might clash heads from time to time, but if there was one thing we all agree on is that a piece of leaf on a cracker is not a full course meal. And Canterlot cuisine REAALLY needed to be reminded of that. So after some brainstorming, a poll and various proposals we came up with a solution where everyone wins."
"Really? How?"
"Two things mostly, one is free publicity, any restaurant yearly has to pay an exorbitant amount of money just so ponies know about their franchise and what they have to offer. This festival is a perfect way to ease the load with simple stalls, free samples and pamphlets of their place. Plus it's hard to ignore, that you need more food when a free sample has more to offer than an actual dish."
"And the other?"
"A friendly competition. There are plenty of games here, and most of them serve a purpose for all the restaurants. That is why the pamphlets." The thestral picks one and shows her the back end of it. "The general public vote using these special tickets. At the end of the day. Those are counted, and the restaurant with the most votes wins the big prize. Their food served at the Grand Galloping Gala and with assistance of the royal chef, the opportunity to serve one of their dishes to none other than the Princess herself. Second place a 50% off of their food supply delivery for a month and third place, a slightly small food truck for them to use." Drusilla chuckles a little as she looks at Twilight, "Nothing like some slight incentive to make everyone try their best, isn't it?"
"I say it is. But more than this, I'm more impressed that you manage to convince everyone into giving this a chance." Twilight tells of looking at the fancy restaurants selling their products and trying to score a vote as well, until she heard someone snort behind her.
"As we had a choice in the first place." Turning around Twilight was surprised to see Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis both wearing their usual elegant blue and white formal suit and dress accompanied by golden regalia, walking toward her with a neutral expression as Drusilla sighs in frustration much to the princess's confusion.
"Great, these guys again."
"Huh?!" Twilight looked between her and Fancy Pants repeatedly until he was in front of the two and gave her a short bow. "Good day, your highness."
"Hi Fancy Pants, Fleur De Lis." Twilight greeted them both with her usual calm smile, "Sorry for asking, but what exactly did you mean by not having a choice?"
"Ah! Princess Twilight if I may…" Drusilla tries to avoid escalation yet it seems like it was a pointless endeavor at this point.
"What is the matter Ms. Drusilla? Not a fan when it is you who is forced to be transparent?" Fancy asks calmly, but with a stern glare at her.
"On the contrary Mr. Pants, I have nothing to hide, just wanting to keep things civilized, in the presence of royalty. Wouldn't you agree for the better?" She then turns to Fleur, "Or you Lieutenant?"
"I’m not a royal guard anymore Drusilla, I have been more than clear about it, as well as not wanting to be reminded of it." Fleur replied coldly and Twilight could feel the electricity sparking between the 3 of them not sure what to do.
"So where is our illustrious mayor Ms. Drusilla? Still recovering behind the castle walls?" Fancy breaks the ice.
"I'm right here, Mr. Pants." Mark answered as he approached the group as he remained calm and respectful. "And more than happy to see you here. After your reservations about changes around Canterlot, it’s nice to see you both stepping out of your comfort zone."
"Please, don't misunderstand. My wife and I were merely looking for you to give our condolences and best wishes to make a fast recovery, nothing more."
Fleur nods and picks a random free sample, "Just because we wish you well doesn't mean we now agree to your more…outrageous proposals for the city." She inspected it carefully and gave it a nibble before shrugging and consuming it, "Regardless of if they had or not any potential."
"I see, in that case I'm thankful for your kind words, even if our world views are different." Mark offers them a short respectful vow, "Even so I still hold hope that one day I would change your minds."
"That would be an impossible endeavor, not after you decided to remove centuries old traditions and festivals we all were more than proud to celebrate." Fancy reply with a cold voice.
"You mean the upper class were proud of having, like the bleeding bits and pointless parties where you used the excuse of being honoring one single bird just by laying on a pond." Drusilla quickly lash back.
"I would like to let you know that the Swan Song Fun Loving Debutante was one of the most prestigious of balls, to celebrate the glamour and class Canterlot is renowned for!" Fleur snaps back as the two mares approach each other.
"Yeah just like it was the Robin Song, the Lovebird Song, and the other 50 or so parties to supposedly celebrate ONE bird. You should be thankful the Mayor agreed to having one Avian Love Song Debutante where you still are in charge and can say thank you to all the birds in the city."
"Hard to be grateful when it looks like you purposely are attacking the noble class in favor of ridiculous demands from the middle class." Fleur snaps.
"Oh, forgive us for demanding equal rights." Drusilla glares at her as they get closer to each other.
"Enough!" Fancy Pants intervened with a stern glare and raised his arm between the two. "We came here to offer our respects, not start an argument. Our world view might be different, but there is merit in their words."
"Thanks Fancy Pants." Mark smiles, but he only glares at him.
"Don't thank me, I'm only showing you how I respect your opinion, expecting the same, and assurance that our voices won't be ignored or be subjected to indiscrimination for petty revenge again." He sighs in frustration before continuing, "You should know when to intervene when things like this keep escalating too."
"We’re all entitled on freedom of speech." He defends himself with neutrality.
"Even that needs to be regulated before it escalates, Mayor, you should take heed of that advice at least." He turns around and takes Fleur's hand, "Come dear, we gave our peace. Let us not sour our moods any further."
"You don't need to leave Fancy Pants, please stay. The games are about to start and plenty of nobles-"
"Thanks, but we will have to pass, have a good day Mayor Mark. Your highness." And with that, they both retire as Mark sighs in exhaustion while Drusilla does so more in frustration. "Sorry you had to see that Princess Twilight."
Having recovered, Twilight looked between them and the leaving couple, "What was that all about?"
"Believe it or not, the more civilized and respectful, disagree with some of my more radical proposals as Mayor." Mark answered with a tired sigh.
"What did he mean by not having a choice and wanting their voices to be heard?" Twilight asks, perplexed, looking between the leaving couple and Mark. "I thought everypony in Canterlot loved you."
"And for the most part, they do, but like anypony else, there will always be people that simply don't like you and unfortunately for me, most of them are in the upper class." He explained with a shrug.
"But why? With how hard you have been working on cleaning and improving not only your office, but life in the city in general. I would imagine they would be more happy with you as Mayor."
He could only raise his hands and shake his head, "What can I say princess? It was subtle, but discrimination was always there, before they merely tolerated me, but seeing an alien monkey in a position of power, specially one that places emphasis on aiding the middle and lower class, really pinched a nerve to various nobles."
"Bunch of whinny colts and fillies if you ask me." Drusilla crosses her arms in frustration, earning a glare from Mark. "What?! You have heard the ridiculous rumors too, look me in the eyes and tell me that none of them are just them complaining just because of how we look."
"Rumors?" Twilight keeps blinking as Drusilla sighs in frustration and nods.
"Most of them lies of course, but the moment we start to run the show, those overgrown brats start spouting lies about Mark, plotting to enact a petty revenge against the upper class for what just a handful of corrupt nobles did to us. How he would flip things up so now THEY will have to suffer while the rest of the city rip their own rewards, and my favorite one, how he was planning to outright ignore everything a noble would say regardless of corruption or not. As you can see even Mr. Pants there swallows that crap."
"Okay enough Drusilla!" Having had enough, Mark stops her from continuing, startling the thestral by his reaction.
"Yeah, some of those claims are pure lies but you have to admit when I started I wasn't Mr. Perfection back then. I made mistakes that I've yet to clean up. Fancy Pants was at the very least right about that one. If he is willing to find us half-way, the very least we could do is try to do the same."
She only grumbles and looks away, not wanting to argue back.
"I'm confused, what exactly did you do?" Twilight asks after a couple of minutes of awkward silence.
"Nothing a sincere apology, a reduction on taxes and some well placed charity acts, didn't fix." A mare answered before Mark could as they all turned ahead of them to see Saffron wearing her usual red scarf on top of a formal chef uniform and the mare that just spoke giving them a flirtatious smirk. She was a young unicorn mare with golden fur, light yellow long straight mane, comb and tie with a single ponytail with a string loose to cover her left eye and a single silver stripe going on both. She was wearing a dark blue set of jeans, open toe high heel sandals that let everyone know she had a hooficure with the dark red of her hoofs, a golden tank top that expose her belly button, a sleeveless orange shirt with a necklace on the neck and a thin silver bracelet on her right wrist.
"Pay no attention to my brother princess, contrary to what everyone believes, he can be a stuck up grumpy pants sometimes." The Mare mentions with a smirk
"Saffron! Golden Sash! So nice to see you both." Mark waved at the two mares as the orange earth pony didn't waste time and sprint to give her old friend a big strong hug.
"We should be the ones saying that silly." Golden replies with a small laugh as Saffron ends the hug.
"It's nice seeing you too Mark, please tell me you are staying all day this time." Saffron asks with puppy pleading eyes.
"Ah come on boss, not the eyes again." He fake surprised and backed away while laughing a little, "No, not the eyes, my one weakness, are pleading puppy eyes!"
Everypony shared a laugh while Twilight smiled at the display until Mark remembered she was there.
"Mark, how many times do I have to tell you? You no longer work for me, you can stop calling me boss." Saffron complain.
"Sorry Saffy, old habits." He tells with a shrug.
"Speaking of, why so formal? Don't you like to call me Goldy, Marky?" Sash pout using her own puppy eyes.
"Sorry girls, still on the clock, oh shit! I almost forgot, girls this...what the hell I'm saying? Everypony knows who Princess Twilight is. Twilight, this is Saffron Masala and Golden Sash. Two of my closest friends in Canterlot, before and after I took office."
"A pleasure your highness." They both bow to Twilight which she reciprocates with an educated smile.
"Likewise, it is nice to meet more of Mark's friends. I would love to hear how you all met. I didn't even knew Fancy Pants had a sister."
"Not surprised there, we usually are pretty reserved when it comes to our family, you know? Don't like for ponies to know much about our personal lives." Sash replied with a shrug. "As how I met the mayor over here." Sash points at Mark, "By Celestia is that a story."
"You see Twilight, like I said before, when I started in office I sure as heck didn't have a clue on what I was doing."
"Ditto. I had experience in paper, but that was our first rodeo." Drusilla corroborates.
"We tried our best and decided to focus first in cleaning up everything Silver left behind, plus checking to see if any other noble had a hidden agenda."
"Oh, raise hands who thought that was an impulsive idea!" Sash asks sarcastically as she raises her own hand into the air earning an eye roll from everyone.
"Yes Sash, you were right, would you stop milking it?" Saffron complained with a sigh.
"NEVER!" She complain before chuckling, "But anyway, continue"
"Anyway, like Sash pointed out, that was a big mistake in the long run, yeah we found shady business here and there, and we got to work in putting things straight and fair for everyone. But at some point I went too far, starting to antagonist the upper class more and more without any reason. Raise taxes, investigate the bias of rumors, drowning them in paperwork when they try to file any complaint."
"I don't care what you say, they deserve the last one." Drusilla crosses her arms with a huff.
"Maybe, but it was clear that I was going too far. Thank the gods Sash managed to reach out to me and after some coercion and one social gathering. I managed to calm down a little."
"And by coercion I mean the princess themselves had to bring him down to earth, but details." Sash clarified with a calm smile as he sighs in shame.
"Yeah I almost really messed up back then."
"I just…I have no words, Mark how could you?"
"I was going through a lot at the time ok? I still had a lot of pent up anger for what Silver tried to pull, and without realizing it, took it all out on the upper class. Princess you have to trust me when I say words can't say how sorry I was."
"Hey, it was all in the past, and your heart was in the right place, you only needed a push in the right direction." Sash brings him into a one arm hug before continuing.
"Anyway, once he had his chance to breathe and calm down. I took it upon myself to help them get a better grip on the reins and start working on truly working on equal rights and the best interest for all classes. Exhibit A." She points at the festival.
"This was your idea?" Twilight points at her.
"More like what I help turn into. The original idea was simply making a law of a minimum proportion for a meal to be considered one. Promising, but still sounded a bit like forcing everyone to put more food on a plate." She extended her hands and looked around as she imitated a libra.
"It requires some trial and error, but I say he got the hang of it." Saffron mentions, "Plus reducing taxes for the nobles is a sure way for them to let you talk."
"Since then I have been trying to correct my past mistakes and earn the trust of the ponies here, but some scars are deeper than others, and some nobles still hate me, others just hide their discrimination, and then there are some like Fancy Pants with a point and still dubious on if I really wish the best for them."
"Don't worry you will get there. The guy is slowly warming up." Sash pat his shoulder, "And anyway you didn't answer. Are you staying? Please say yes, it will be nice hearing what new ideas you have come up with…and how are you faring after well…you know." She avoids eye contact and feels depressed.
Mark nods and pat her shoulder, "It's ok, the whole take really shook all of us. You don't need to say it, and to answer. Wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Really?!" Saffron asks in excitement.
"But only until 5, have some errand to attend to as well."
"Good for me, that would give us time to catch up, in lost time." Golden grabs his arm and starts to pull him forward, "How are you feeling? How does it feel living in the castle? Why is one of the princesses of Equestria shadowing you?" She starts to list off, and tightening her hold on his arm, as to let him know that she would not let him go until she gets all the answers.
With a roll of his eyes and a chuckle Mark looked away, "It's a long story."
"We have time Mr. Mayor, and don't think about slipping away mister. It's not gonna happen this time."
"Fine! But this better not become future gossip later on. "
"Mark~" She gave him a deadpan, "You make a miraculous recovery after an attack followed soon by a princess declaring you her guest of honor, which Princess Celestia follows suit. Sorry to tell you, but that boat sailed a long time ago." She responded, "Now out with the hot gossip."
"Wait, how did you know about-"
"Ah, pa, pa, pa! Not so fast mister! You are not dodging my questions this time! So better start talking."
He can only sigh in defeat, "It's gonna be a long day, isn't it?"
The mares laugh at his reaction and share a chuckle of his own. He recovered and started to share his tale.
After saying goodbye to his friends and leaving to attend a special meeting, the mares tried to enjoy the rest of the festivities as best as they could, yet the princess of friendship couldn't shake the feeling that something felt off. It was weird enough that Mark deny her or Drusilla to follow him but then she start to notice that gradually there were fewer and fewer stallions on the street and now it looked like the place was filled with nothing but mares.
"Kind of creepy, isn't it?" Twilight snap to attention as she saw Drusilla looking around too. "A whole food festival, and not a single stallion in sight. But well that is how these meetings go, I suppose." She explained with a shrug.
"Meeting? You mean the same meeting Mark said he was going and for some reason, neither of us could go with him, despite being one of his tasks as mayor?"
She nods once "The same, I still say they are going overboard with the security but well, better safe than sorry."
"Yeah, considering how dangerous heat week can get, I say the stallions have their right to be as cautious as they want." Saffron joins in the conversation as she hands some free samples of sour candy.
"Wait all of this is because heat week is coming soon?" Twilight asks perplexed making the mares around her blink a couple of times.
"The stallions on Ponyville don't have meetings for this?" Golden asks in behave of the other mares as Twilight shakes her head.
"No, sure it's hard but there is nothing a cooler, a buddy system and time schedule for stallions to come out at certain hours to ensure they don't sweat too much can't fix. Worst-case scenario, a mare or mares just need to put a flower at their door and seclude themselves until the urges pass. You are saying you do things differently here?"
"JA, Princess you have no idea." Drusilla smiled and roll her eyes as she shake her head.
"An unfortunate consequence of a life of keeping yourself collective, calm, and refined at all time." Saffron explains "Yeah even I'm guilty on follow the trends there. It is even curious how the same happens to the lower class come to think about it" She looks up deep in thought.
"Eh I say it's more of a collective mind syndrome, but yeah Princess because the large majority of mares in the city are so used to basically keeping our emotions in check and not be as open with them like in other towns when the heat comes, it does HARD." The mares all nod in embarrassment in front of the princess.
"Almost like the only thing we can retain in our heads is sex and hunt down a dick to mount" Sash confesses with some heat on her cheeks.
"Add to that, how we have a school for gifted unicorns and many Wonderbolts lived here and well. You don't need to be a genius to know how dangerous of a combination can result."
"But what about the Royal Guard? Can't they help?"
"There are mares on their ranks too, Princess," Drusilla replies right away. "Besides they already have their hand full preventing well-trained and armed mares from harming civilians" She shivered a little "I dread to imagine what they have to do to contain both them AND the royal sisters."
The other mares nod in understanding.
"Yeah that explains, come to think of it, right about this time mom and dad always made me and Shining visit my aunt Comet in Fillidelfia, and...ew, ew, ew! I just figure it out!" She shake her head and turn green when she pieced together what they were doing. Making all the mares laugh.
"Yep it's a whole ordeal, one could only think what those guys will be plotting as we speak" Golden look up into the sky as a shooting star was passing announcing the start of the night.
Meanwhile, deep inside the mountain a gathering of stallions enter throw a secret door hidden between two rocks, before a cloaked figure dashes toward them once the door closes. Knocking three times a slide in the door opened revealing a pair of eyes.
"Password?"
"Dark Souls" The figure reply
"Who killed the dragons?"
"The alliance of humanity"
The slide close and soon the door opens revealing a Gallus on the other side "This way, hurry"
The figure rushes inside into a dark room with a smirk on her face. Guided by the griffin as he helps it take a seat. "Wait here."
The figure nods and waits patiently until the lights turn on and someone pulls her cloak revealing a light pink unicorn sitting with chains on her hoofs on a circle as a banner that says "Time Out" was placed. Around her, there were other mares that had the same idea of sneaking in.
"NO!" She trashes and screams alongside the other mares
"We would release you once the meeting is over," Gallus mentions as he closes the door, and resume guarding the entrance for the real stallions.
"Who killed the dragons?"
"Sid the Scaless" A group give the right answer and they were guided into a deeper room where all the stallions of Canterlot were chatting with some snacks and drinks with a stage at the end of the room with a podium in the middle of it, as Mark made his way toward say podium and address the audience.
"Are those the last ones Gallus?" He questions and once the griffin nods Mark clears his throat and addresses the audience using a court gable.
"Attention everyone! We are about to begin, please take a seat!" He orders and after some chatting the stallions all do as told and keep quiet. "I hereby start the A.P meeting" He hit the gable one more time before using a clicker and starts his PowerPoint presentation showing a calendar painted blue minus the first 3 days. "As you all know preening season is 3 days away. Which means we all only have one month left to prepare for heat week."
Changing images he shows next month with the first week painted intense red and the following two light pink. "It might look like we still have time but unfortunately it appears the season arrived earlier" He shows them a pie chart "According to the royal guard, the Wonderbolts, and my own analyses more than 45% of the pegasus population is starting to molt, and 10% of the entire mare population are showing clues of early or mirage heat"
The room gets tense as some stallions start to look at one another "It ok everyone, there is still too early for the real heat to strike"
"Should we start moving migrating to the save heavens now?" A stallion in the audience asks/suggest "Maybe just a small portion at the very least. The stallions that are in more imminent danger I mean. My marefriend brought her mother and 5 sisters to spend two weeks with us and I swear 2 of her siblings and her mother are starting to give me bedroom eyes. The last one is an ex-royal, one is a judo instructor and the other is part of the ponyse corps, for Celestia's sake! They could snap me in half!"
Other stallions start to yell in fear sharing similar situations and demanding a quick solution until Mark starts to hit the gable repeatedly demanding silence.
"Order! Order!" Once relax he continues "I hear your concern and I'm aware of how the dangers might be..."
Suddenly the changing images of the Princesses with bedroom eyes and holding a comb came to Mark as she extend the item toward him asking her to help her get rid of loose feathers before starting to take off her shirt. That was enough to make him shiver before snapping back to reality.
"...closer than what we could imagine, but the last thing we need is to panic and make a tense situation even worse. That is why as a prevention measure I propose the establishment of the buddy system, the emergency exit spells triggered by female pheromones a.k.a, either a kiss, rub off their crotch, or strong tail movement, and male royal guards patrolling in case of the worst-case scenario. All in favor?"
Right away everyone raised their hand and he bang the gable "The motion pass, Gallus think you can mobilize enough guards for patrolling?"
"I can spare 20 or so but any more and the city security would stretch too thin, I can't guarantee 24/7 safety either."
"It's better than nothing, and the spell can aid too. If things result in that then you can escape to the tunnels" He changes the image again "Witch brings us to the next topic, our escape routes. Mr. Pants if you please."
Fancy Pants stand up "All five save heaves have been equipped with food, clothing, and living arrangements to last the full 3 weeks, and the entrance has been enchanted to only be granted by male species. Remember the routes are organized as a maze to fool any chasers and are color arrange to avoid getting lost. Used the blue squares to banish into adjacent routes and follow the red, red, orange, yellow, white arrows to be teleported away."
"Do your best in memorizing that, and do NOT leave any paper trait of them, unless you want to be a volunteer as the release corps next year," Mark mentions with a stern glare making the stallions in the group flinch and nod rapidly.
"Speaking of which Jet Set" Everyone looks at him as Mark sees some papers on the podium "Care to explain how did your wife know where we were holding the meeting?"
"M-Mayor I swear I didn't say anything!" He starts to beg sweating bullets as he keeps staring at him with neutrality. "I-I might have let it slip we would be gathering underground but that's all!"
"And care to explain how she knew the password too?" "Only the fake one!"
"Which I disclose one day before to ensure no mare would try to sneak in." Some of the guards start to approach the crowd targeting other stallions that clue the rest of the mares that tried to sneak into the meeting and even knew the password.
"P-Please! Don't act like you are not thinking about it! A free pass? A chance of a fling with supermodels! With royals guards! With...with another stallion's wife! No string attaché! Are you telling me none of you even consider it at least once!?" Jet Set finally snaps and looks at everyone in the room moments before being restrained.
With a disappointed sigh, Mark could only shake his head "You are right Jet Set I have thought about it." The stallions look at him with a mix of surprise and curiosity, some even crossing their arms and raising an eyebrow at him.
"Let us not fool ourselves here people, we all have! We are not made of stone, of course, the idea of indulging ourselves in some form of the shape of depravity sounds both wrong and enticing, heck maybe it IS enticing because it is wrong in the first place. But that is no excuse or a pretext for what it will be in the end. Rape, plain and simple!" He slams his fist on the podium making everyone flinch as his tone turns more aggressive.
"Heat week is something that escapes the control of any mare once it reaches adulthood. It is embarrassing enough to have a whole week dedicated to their special time of the year, but the pain most of them are suffering...The insatiable craving that virtually is overrunning their minds...we can only shiver at the idea of how hard and painful it must be for them to have to endure it each and every year. And yes Jet Set I say the risk of pregnancies is a huge string attached that no one should be taken lightly. They have no control over it, so it falls on us to support them, help them get past throw it as smoothly as possible and NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE of them!"
He punctuated each point "This meeting is to help all of Canterlot overcome a difficult time, not an excuse to indulge in an erotic fantasy of yours if you wish to pursue it? Fine by me, that is your private life, but if I find out that any stallion decided to use the excuse of the heat to go chase after pussies like some sort of animal. I personally would make sure there is a dungeon cell with your name on it, do I make myself clear!?"
"Y-Yes" They all reply slightly frighten by his tone, once calm he resumes the meeting
"Good, then with all that said, we should move into the last subject of the night, the release corps volunteer."
"And there it is Gentlestallion! The hypocrisy!" A unicorn noble suddenly stands up and points at Mark. Like any others, he was wearing a typical black and blue formal suit with a red scarf "Going on a rant about not taking advantage of mares, and then picking a bunch of us to do just that."
"That is not the purpose of the release corps and you know it Mr. Pennyworth and you know it," Mark answered with a stern gaze.
"How so? Because by their definition they sound like the lucky bastards that can go around screwing with as many mares as they want without risking breeding while the rest hide! How is that different than what Jet Set was proposing."
He points at the unicorn in question who at the time was brought into the corner alongside the other stallions that reveal their location. "Furthermore how is this a punishment, in the first place?"
"Because unlike what you are thinking the release corpse purpose function is no different than be a living cooler for the more aggressive of mares going throw this time of the year. Mares without control who could easily break their partner's pelvis and keep going not realizing or/and in some cases, caring for what he had to say." The answer manages to silence the stallion.
"Plus those mares aren't selected by the stallion in question and rather assigned to them throw various factors and levels of danger if her behavior takes a turn for the worse. They are in no way, volunteering to indulge in some bizarre fantasy, but you don't need to believe me Pennyworth, if you wish for proof, I invite you to volunteer for this year's corps."
"Your attempts of intimidation would not work this time Mayor, the rest might have not to piece it together but I know exactly what you are plotting"
"And what would that be?" Mark raised an eyebrow at Pennyworth.
"To have your way with our princesses." The room erupts in comments as the audience starts to agree or disagree with him "Don't you find very convenient how our noble and steam mayor got attacked days before the preening season started? Then made a miracle recovery? and then right after, to ensure his safety he is by law required to live on the castle indefinitely? It's a lot of coincidences if you ask me."
The arguments start to get heated and Mark is forced to bang his gable to try to recover the control of the meeting as Pennyworth keeps pointing an accusing finger at him.
"It would be so easy to excuse his actions by simply joining the corps and using the pretext of aiding them when in reality he just wants to live his own fantasy. At the very least Jet Set came clean and say it. Confess Mayor Mark, there wasn't even an attack in the first place, was it?"
The room exploits in euphoria and fills with arguments making it impossible for the human to be heard. Turning to Gallus for help the griffin nodded and made the notion for him to cover his ears. Once he did the captain release a screech so strong that all the stallions present froze and cover their own ears in pain, returning the room to silence.
"ENOUGH!" Mark bangs his gable once more to gain their attention as everyone turns to him. "I'll not stand by and let anyone accuse me of such crimes! Or let this gathering derail from its objective, to discuss the subject of my attackers. I would only say this, yes like the years before as an act of good faith and with the duty of aiding the mares in need I myself would be part of the relief corps. Do I take pleasure in doing so? Yes, like stated before I'm not made of rocks, the idea of laying with a beautiful mare is incredible but finding pleasure or not is irrelevant, my primary and only goal is to help my city. I don't get to choose what mare do I help, either as no one here is about the law."
He stop them before more complaints could be heard "As for the idea of helping the princess? Even if my living arrangements have been changed by law, I'll never take advantage in their most vulnerable moment. I would spend the entire week bunker in my home before that ever happen. That I would swear." He promise and the stallions remain quiet some were still not convinced but regardless decided to hold their tongues.
Signing in exhaustion he continues "If there isn't anything else to say let resume, me, the royal guards, and the Wonderbolts are in. As well as those that need a reminder on why these meetings must remain confidential" He takes a stern glare at Jet Set and the other stallions that spill the beans.
"Other than that, is there any more volunteer for this year's corps? Remember forming part, would mean obligatory self-defense, disarmament, and not lethal restraining lesson. As well as temporary infertility spells and around-the-clock shifts. If any of that doesn't present an issue then please I ask, would any of you want to help the female population?"
The stallions look a bit unsure as well as one another as some brave ones slowly raised their hands and ask questions like if they can take care of the less aggressive mares and if they will ensure they don't end up paired with a blood relative which they answered and explain further how it would work as they fill the list of volunteer.
"Ok ponies with that, we have filled everything that needed to be discussed. Meeting Adjourn" Mark hit the gable one last time "Gallus, you can let the mares go now."
Soon everyone started to disperse and make preparation for the upcoming month ahead them. At the time there the city was so divided between the festival and the meeting that not a single soul was able to witness the sparks of fire gaining force, on a residential district until it was too late.
Kneeling in front of the remains of what once was his house, Mark continue to stare in shock as the firefighters keep cleaning up and making sure the place was safe to enter. Next to him was Drusilla on his right and Celestia on his left, all of them still in their pajamas. The news that a noble mare was arrested for burning down his house arrived moments after the Princess raised the sun.
Luckily Luna and her guards manage to reprehend the criminal soon enough but by the time they reach his house, there is nothing to do but let the fire continue to not risk an explosion that would make matters worse.
"I'm so sorry Mark." Celestia places her hand over his shoulder "By the times the guards arrived at the scene...there was just so little we could do to stop it. The starting point was inches from hitting a gas line if they had done anything...The mare really knew what she was doing"
"I just don't get it." Mark finally spoke and stared down at the ground "Who...why would anyone would do something so horrible?"
"To send a message." Drusilla replies while glaring at the charcoal remains "Just like the first attack, just wanted to scare you. Why else would Golden Key do this?"
That catches him by surprise "Pennyworth's wife?"
Drusilla nods a couple of times "Seems like the two were involved in your attack. The ponyse already told me that they arrested all the ones that attack you back in the alleyway, Pennyworth was the one you strangle. Seems like her wife wanted revenge for that."
"That is why he was wearing a scarf yesterday." He mumbles to himself as he stands up and starts pondering something.
"Come again, Mark?" Celestia ask not hearing what he said
"Tell me something Drusilla, were all the ponies that attack me nobles or members of the high class?"
"Yep, just like I suspected, it was those that you weren't very popular among."
As well as all the ponies that criticize me at the meeting. Mark starts to pounder until Celestia speaks up.
"It really pains me when my little ponies go to this extremes for a disagreement, I know it doesn't change the pain of losing your home but at the very least you could take solace in knowing that you can stay at the castle as much time as you want, your priceless possession is safe, and this case is officially over."
"I'm not sure Princess" Mark replies right away as he tries to piece together everything in exhaustion "There is still something that doesn't add up."
"You think there are more brats that we didn't catch?" Drusilla raised an eyebrow.
"Not exactly, but the first attack was trying to be discreet and anonymous. This one despite looking impulsive and loud seemed too well plan ahead like they wanted to be caught . Like this was part of their goal, maybe it even ties with the meeting fiasco."
"Why? What would they win by doing all of this?" Drusilla looks confused as Celestia's eyes wide slightly
"Mark, you don't think...?"
"It's just a possibility." He sighs in exhaustion "Only time would tell but if their goal is really what I think it is, there is only one pony I know that could and would pull something this sickening." He mentions as the two march away.
"Ok enough wonder twins! Are you gonna share with the class what is in your head or not?" Drusilla stood in front of them in exasperation before realizing she had just snapped at the princess and blushing she fake coughed and look down "I-If that ok with you, your highness."
Having calmed down, the two explain to her what was on their mind. A theory both of them wanted to be wrong, yet unfortunately, it seems like their suspicions were correct.
In the following days, things at work got tenser as ponies start to get their distance around the Mayor, more and more nobles and upper-class members keep giving him the stink eye or downright smiling nervously whenever he pass by and a big chunk of his meetings were suddenly canceled due to mysterious flu that conveniently struck the ones he was gonna a talk. Giving him extra free time that didn't exactly help his case, not even when he was hanging out with the heroes of Equus.
"The heck is wrong with everypony lately?" Rainbow Dash voice her confusion as they returned from watching a race in the city hippodrome "I thought you were doing a good job as a major, why is everyone suddenly treating you like you are Tirek?"
With a tired sigh, Mark sits on his chair and pinch the bridge of his nose "Because they are afraid of getting arrested if they get into my bad side or don't agree with my ideas." He replies in disappointment.
"Ok question, why?"
Looking up he sighed in frustration "Because that was the answer of my attackers to my taunting." He looks forward and shakes his head "As the mayor, there is a public image I must maintain at all times. Ponies trust in me, they need to feel safe knowing I look after their best interest. So they decided to target my public image by orchestrating a scenario where the general public would think I act out of petty instead of following the law...and they succeed."
"But that is what you do? It is not fair, why is everyone getting so angry just because you do your job. In fact who would go to such lengths, be so petty, and do something so sickening just to ruin your image?" Dash flares her wings in anger as Mark could only shake his head.
"I don't know Dash, that is why later after work I intend to pay a visit to the only pony who could possibly be this twisted."
"Awesome, do you mind if I tag along?"
Mark shook his head at the daredevil "Sorry Dash, I appreciate the gesture and any other time I wouldn't mind the company but this is both a personal matter and a town hall issue. Besides you already have your hands full figuring out how would you stay as a Wonderbolt while also being a part of Twilight's new kingdom. How is that gonna work anyway?" Mark raised an eyebrow trying to change the subject.
"Eh, I step by step am figure things up, don't worry. And are you sure you don't want me there when you face this bastard?"
"Completely" He nods and the ringing of a bell made them look at a wall clock announcing the end of the day "Right on time, I and Drusilla should be going now." He stood up and start to put away some papers "Go home Dash."
"Come on dude, I really don't see the issue of bringing me along. What is so personal about this pony?"
Mark stopped in his tracks and with a tired sigh stared down while giving the captain his back "...His name is Silver Tongue. Better now as Mayor Silver, he was my predecessor."
The room gets quiet as Dash was caught off guard while he and Drusilla prepare to leave.
"We know you want to help Ms. Dash we really do" The thestral reply in pity before staring at the ground "But there are things from our past, that can´t be shared, and this, unfortunately, is one of them."
Rainbow remains quiet and clench her fist "That only is the more reason I should be there."
"Rainbow please understand, what happens..."Mark starts but she has none of that as she dashes forward.
"No Mark, listen to me. I was absent when that creep do as he pleased and ruined your life, and then tried to harm you when he couldn't accept he lost. At least let me be there for this." She begs at them both.
Exchanging glances they sigh and nod "You would have to do as we said" Drusilla instruct.
"Of course"
"And don't listen to anything he tells you." Mark continues "The bastard is a master manipulator, he would want to enrage you, to get into your head, so whatever you do, do not play into his traps."
"Relax, I not some gullible little filly, I would not fall for his tricks. "
"We mean it Rainbow Dash, that monster is really good at getting under your skin and making you do exactly what he wants. If you really want to be present those are our conditions." Drusilla cross her arms and let her know she is been serious.
"Fine, I would be on my best behavior"
Satisfy by their answer the group lock the place and headed to Canterlot prison where after explaining the addition of Rainbow Dash to the guard and going throw security, they were escorted to the lowest level in the building reserved for the most dangerous or malicious of criminals, until finally, they reach the cell they were looking for and behind bars, was the pony they were looking for.
A slightly bulky unicorn with a white long mane that cover his right eye, while his left was a yellow thestral one and dark gray fur, wearing an orange suit was casually reading the book of friendship.
"Silver Tongue" The guard bang on the iron bars to get his attention "You have a visit."
"Indeed I have" He closes the book and turns to look at them, his eye-widening slightly when he notices the pegasus and smiles brightly "And what a visit it is" Standing up he slowly approaches the group "The element of loyalty herself is paying me a visit. Big fan of your work by the way. Would it be possible for you to sign it?" He extends the book to her making her.
His big smile made her more than a little uncomfortable as her feather start to frazzle and her fur started to get a little frizzy from the tension.
"Sorry I can't offer you a pen, they don't let me have one."
"They couldn't risk you using it as a weapon, I bet." Drusilla replies with neutrality and Silver finally notices the others, and immediately his smile banish.
"Well, would you look at that, our prestigious mayor and his beloved secretary grace me with their presence? What an honor." His tone dripping with venom and sarcasm.
"Hello Silver Tongue, I see you have been working out" Mark mentions with equal neutrality making the whole room feel tenser, as the unicorn turns to him.
"Oh, this?" He flexes his arm to show the muscle on it "Just a little hobby I been indulging myself since you stole my chair, and put this on my horn." He points to the inhibitor ring on the said horn "Congratulation, by the way, you haven't burned down the city...yet."
"I see you haven't lost your charm Silver." They continue to stare at one another until the unicorn turns around
"What do you want ape? I imagine this isn't exactly a casual visit."
"You are right, it isn't. A couple of weeks ago I was attacked on an alleyway by a group of noble ponies, all of which were unicorns."
"You don't say." He nods a couple of times with a sarcastic tone.
"You don't seem all surprise, almost like you knew," Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.
"But of course, I knew." He goes to bed and lifting the mattress reveals a series of the old newspaper "I might not have the right of a pen but they let me read the news. So if you come here to accuse me of something I have to say the only thing I'm guilty of, is taking joy knowing you end up in the hospital."
He looks up in satisfaction until his gaze turns sour and looks at him again "Shame it only lasted a couple of days, kind of suspicious if you ask me. Care to explain how exactly you made such a fast recovery?"
"I'm the one asking the questions here Silver, don't try to spin things around." Mark hardens his gaze resulting in him smirking.
"My, my so defensive and talking with such superiority, must be the result of living in the castle." He then looks at the mares "Tell me sweet cheeks has he started to demand everyone to call him "sir." or something similar?"
"You heard him! We are making the questions here. You creep." Drusilla answer right away
"My, such hostility, what would your dear brother say if he were to see you now?"
Drusilla smirked and cross her arms "Something worse for you I bet, he always has a better depth perception than others when it comes to insults." That manages to leave him stiff. "But we are not here to poke eyes. In a way, we are just been the bigger ponies and see things eye to eye"
"Enough!" Mark stops Drusilla before Silver snaps at her remarks "That is not what we are here for, Silver if you have access to the news, I imagine you know what happens to my house"
"Oh yes, such a tragedy, having no choice but to live in the castle. Oh, the horror." He replies sarcastically
"That seems to have been the intention actually. The attack, the rumors, and now my house. All oddly timed and arrange to make me look bad. Something you might do if you had the resource."
He huffs in the air "I don't need to do anything to make you look bad. You are already doing it by yourself."
"We also know that all those criminals were fans of yours and that they pay you frequent visits before the attacks began." Mark continues.
"Well would you look at that, we have quite the detective chimp right here." He extends his arms and looks around as everyone present just glares at Silver. "Ok detective write this down, yes I have my fans too, and yes I have had my fair share of visits, but I didn't have anything to do with your attacks."
He points at a camera on the wall "You can check the security tapes if you don't believe me, as you know I'm been monitored 24/7, and while it is true that I hate you, my life doesn't revolve around you."
He goes back to his bed and takes out a blank book "In fact, I have been focusing my attention on a more lucrative avenue, haven't you heard? I'm been recommended for the reformation program, and released under parole."
"YOU are been considered for early release?" Dash points at him in disbelief as he nods.
"Model inmate here sweetie, and contrary to what those two have been filling your head with. I wasn't the monster they made me look like, you can read all about it in my upcoming biography" He shows them the title "Life and Time of an unjust arrest. After reporters came here to hear my side of the story, it got me thinking and I start to write about my life as a mayor, how and why I got arrested, and my time in self-reflection. Everyone loves a good redemption arc. I'm gonna a be millionaire, and it will be legit this time."
"So that's it, you are a creep and racist but not a criminal." Mark raises an eyebrow
"Maybe I was before, but I have changed" He replied with a smirk. "Sorry, you came to a dead-end, Mr. Mayor."
Mark sighs in exhaustion "No, you are not" He turns around "And this was just a waste of time, but at the very least it's nice to hear that you are putting effort into something else rather than revenge. Looks like we were dealing with a copycat then. Or a hyper fan that doesn't mind ruining their image if it means following into their idol hoofsteps." They all prepare to leave and Silver grabs the iron bars.
"Just one more thing before you leave" Looking over his shoulder Mark turns to him as he pulls his hair revealing a void socket where his other eye should be. "While I didn't have anything to do about it, I'm thrilled you got what you deserved. You cost me an eye and I end up here. You lose your house and became the pariah of the town, nothing like some old fashion poetic justice, don't you agree? Now you know how it feels." He laughs briefly in victory
Sighing Mark shake his head "Goodbye Silver, may you find peace in life"
"Come anytime ape, oh, and thank you ladies" A cold shiver went throw both mares as they feel his eye on them "The image of your backs would keep me company for a couple of nights"
Speeding their march they all rush as far away from him as possible until they exit the prison. "And HE is seriously considered to be released?" Dash looks back in disbelief "There must be a catch, there is no way anyone would think that creep deserves to be outside."
"Agree" Drusilla nods and takes a deep breath "But at the very least we can cross him off the list."
"Yeah, I was fearing that guy had something planned but turns out this was only some fan trying to copy him which explains a lot, and more importantly, it means this is officially over."
"So what are you gonna do to restore your image?" Dash question floating in mid-air.
"It will take time but like any other gossip this kind of thing will simply fade away, sure now everyone is hype with the hottest rumor but trust me, it would not last. So for now, it's back to business as usual."
"Makes sense, and hey you can always count on the wonderbolts if you need help improving your image dude."
"Thanks, Dash I would sure keep it in mind but for now, we better call it a day it getting pretty late already."
"Ok, see you around" Dash waved goodbye and leaves as fast as she could while Mark and Drusilla send her away until she was gone.
Drusilla let go a sigh of exhaustion "Thanks Celestia is finally over." She then looks at Mark "Now we can focus again on the other pressing matter."
"Did Tree Hugger confirm the date?"
"All pack and ready dude, once you arrived, first thing in the morning she would be waiting for you at the train station. And confirmed all the mares involved are perfectly healthy, there would be no issue there."
"Then I suppose tomorrow I will have my answer then." They both see a shooting star passing by
Walking throw the hallway of the train station carrying a traveling backpack while wearing a thick green sweater, blue jeans, mountain shoes, and a red hat. Mark tries his best at keeping a low profile while talking on his scroll.
"Did you arrive safety?" Drusilla questioned from the other side.
"Just now yeah, so far there are no issues and everything seems calmed, a bit cold but that was to be expected with been the middle of autumn and all that." He starts to look around for the mayor.
"Oh trust me, Tree Hugger would find a way to keep you warm." Rolling his eyes Mark let her have her laugh before continuing.
"How much were you waiting to make that joke?"
"Oh like an hour or two, give or take. Anyway, don't worry about anything here, it will be nice if you stay away from the city for a bit, at least until the rumors end. "
"It will be nice coming back to a Canterlot that doesn't give me the stink eye. Call me if anything happens."
"Ditto and have fun tiger" She jokes once more before hanging out, resulting in another eye roll as he finally spots the mare he was looking for holding a sign with his name on it.
"Over here, Mark!" Once she spots him, Tree Hugger waves at him to get his attention as he approaches. Like she too was prepared for the cold weather with a blue beanie, a thin purple sweater, matching mittens, a blue scarf, and some slightly baggy blue jeans.
"Hi Mayor Hugger, thanks for coming to great me"
"Mayor? Oh no Mark, despite you insisting on covering your arrival with the discussion of some herbal teas, this is a friendly visit so no tittles."
He chuckles in embarrassment "sorry Ma...Tree Hugger, a force of habit" He gets closer to her as to whisper "And consider the real reason I'm here, I can't help but be nervous"
"Yes, your aura has been a swirl of doughs and fear ever since I saw you. The series of tragedies that have occurred to you have shaken your center, hasn't it?"
"In a way, you could say it has yeah."
"Say no more, you come to the right place, and don't worry is perfectly normal to be nervous, on your first time, I would gladly clench all that toxins from your souls once it merges with mine. This way."
Before he could make sense of what she just said, Tree Hugger already grabbed his wrist and drag him out of the train station and into the city, letting go once she saw how Mark was following behind.
As they advance Mark took a moment to admire the town. Unlike Canterlot which was deck full of glamour and high class reflected everywhere Blossom Sprints had a more humble appearance, making it resemble more of a typical nuclear residential district, with identical copies of 3-floor houses with front yards all with multicolor spring leaves litter the grass in rows upon rows. Playgrounds, dog parks and small supermarkets at the end of corners, clean streets with 3 types of dumpsters, and even the occasional lemon stand where kids were selling a drink to other kids playing around, in this case instead of lemon it seems to be selling cookies.
Overall the city had a very homey charm and display of wealth and good life appearance, something Mark was fully prepared to expect even though he wasn't sure, what to expect in the first place.
"Do you like it?" Snapping back to reality, he sees Hugger has caught him staring "This town has a calm and relaxed vibe to it, doesn't it?" She looks away and sighs in contentment.
"Blossom Sprints has its name because of the waterfall at the edge of the city providing clean water and how its flora have special properties that grant a blossoming spring type of look no matter the season we are in, as you could see by the leaves colors no matter the time of the year."
She picks a leaf and stands beside a tree to mark her points as he could see how despite losing leaves, it doesn't show signs of running out of them and still looks like it is in the middle or maybe even the start of the spring season.
"That sure is impressive but more than that, I didn't expect Blossom Sprints to have such a...family-friendly, suburb look. No offense but for the stories I heard, I was convinced this place was, well...?"
"What? You thought we lived in some sort of hippy society where everyone lives in tents, drum circles and dirt roads are everywhere, and clothes are optional?" Tree Hugger smirks with a raised eyebrow as they continue their march, as the human can't do anything else but look down in shame and nod with a small blush.
Suddenly he got confused when he heard her laugh. "Don't feel bad, you weren't that far away."
"What?"
She nods in reminiscent "Yeah, of course, it wasn't completely like you probably imagine it but there was a time where this place was against the idea of progress, technology, and for some reason, even soap" She shivers at the idea
"It needed a bit of a fixer-upper, and a lot of convincing around but gradually we realized that by rejecting that part of life we weren't better than those that rejected mother nature. We have a free love mentality of course but we improved and learn to break from the stigma that is 'technology and self-care is bad' in a way we found a harmonious middle ground to everything."
"Wow Tree Hugger, I misread you. This place has way more layers than I originally thought"
She nods in agreement "I can give you a tour later if you like, but right now that is not what we came here for." She grabs his hand once again "And this is part of something the younglings don't need to know yet so please let keep things quiet, ok?." She emphasizes her point by bringing a finger in front of her mouth as Mark nods.
Soon the two leave the more populated area and after passing a huge wooden door, with guards on it and the image of a stallion and a mare smiling with a heart on their palms sculpt on them, the two enter the more mature section of the city where Mark could see ponies in trench coats walking out or in houses, some citizen were smoking and chatting around with pipes and what Mark was assuming were cigarettes, and a couple of mares of not only the 3 tribes but even zebras, does, and a couple of diamond bitches, in casual, informal clothing were starting to wink or blowing kisses at him. The human could also swear to have seen a couple of soccer moms he saw dropping their kids to school early.
This must be their equivalent of the red district but funny enough even this place is more casual than Canterlot somehow. Mark starts to pounder for a while until they reach their destination.
"We are here" Stopping Mark was surprised when he saw an odd building in front of the two, at first glance, it looked like 3 different towers of four or five floors each but there were bridges in the middle connecting them into one as well as been cover in a series of fabrics making it look like a very extravagant tent. The neo sigh at the entrance saying "The Harmonious Tent" was not helping their case. "I know it seems intimidating but when the first impression fade, you would see this place can be quite inviting."
"I thought you say, you didn't have tents?"
"I never said that, I inquired if you thought we have nothing BUT tents here" She clarify with a wink.
"Ah and...this is not going to a be like 'on the open kind of deal right? Because I have issues with public..."
"Oh no don't worry, I'm aware of your reserves with public nudity, those activities happen in another part of the city, this is the tamest of the tents."
"Ah...wait, so that also happens...what?" He keeps trying to process everything as Tree Hugger brings him inside
"Don't worry I will guide you throw every step, and it might not look like but this place has an excellent sound-canceling structure, we will have all the privacy you want."
Sure enough her claims were confirmed when they enter the place, turn to the left, and while marching throws the stairs to the second floor the human saw and heard on the first floor loud music playing and a lady in the middle of performance while ditching her clothes, but once they arrived at the second level all the sound was gone.
"Was that a strip club back there?"
"Hmmm yes and no, you see, some ponies just like to dance." With each answer, Mark can only get more questions but he ultimately decided to stop and let things flow.
Soon they stop at a door which, Tree Hugger had the key for and enter what appear to be a fairly spacious apartment with mattresses, sofas, sheets, and pillows spread on a circle in the middle of the living room where incense inside a metallic bubble was perfuming the whole place. Some relaxing ambient music was playing and the curtains were pulled to finish giving the room, the privacy Tree Hugger mentioned.
"Wow, you were right, I thought this could be scary but this place is kind of relaxing."
"Glad to hear, it would be best if you are calm once we start," Hugger explains before pointing at a pillow. "Mind waiting a bit while I finish setting everything up?"
"Sure" Nodding once Mark goes and sits while she retired to another room. Getting out of sight behind a door frame with a curtain on it.
As he wait and look around despite the relaxing atmosphere the human couldn't help but feel slightly anxious as the realization of what was about to happen hit him. "So...how exactly are gonna a start? Do I start undressing or...?"
He stop once he heard Tree Hugger chuckling from the other room. "If you like, but maybe you should wait. It would be better if we spoke a bit and let things develop at their own pace. Plus..."Pulling the curtain away, Mark's cheek flusters a bit when he notices how she was now wearing a grass green bathrobe and was carrying a tea seat on a silver plate. "...the experience improves greatly if you meet every mare involved, before the merging."
There was nothing erotic on her outfit, quite the contrary it was fairly modest, yet the idea of her being naked underneath one piece of fabric held together by one loosely tie knock, was alluring enough to make the human gulp, especially when she reached for a small coffee table with wheels and place in the middle of the circle before bending down to put tea set on it, giving him a glimpse of her chest.
"And before you ask it will only be me and two more mares, trust me it's best if you start small and then work your way up if you wish to increase the number."
"I...I see" Swallowing saliva Mark recovers some control once the pony sits in front of him with a relaxed smile
"Would you like to meet them now?"
"Sure" He nods starting to calm down while she serves them both a cup.
Nodding once she look at the curtain once again "Come on in girls, he is ready" She instruct and sure enough two mares appear from the curtain, also wearing nothing but a bathrobe, a very tall and think unicorn with light blue fur and dark blue mane wearing nothing but a white robe, that could barely hold her big breast easily on the F or maybe G size, she had a smooth and pretty face and her mane and tail were long and slightly puffy at the end giving her a cute yet erotic appearance. The pegasus on the other hand while also having a similar problem and breast size, which he could even see a peek of her cute light pink areola inside a light pink bathrobe, caught Mark's attention the most because of how he could recognize her immediately as she chuckles lightly with a small blush and waved at him.
"Flu-Fluttershy?!"He exclaims in both shock and confusion
"Hi again Mark, so glad for you to join us."
"As I'm from seeing that I would only need to make one introduction." Tree Hugger nods as the mares join the circle and take a seat, the unicorn with her eyes firmly set on the floor and sporting a huge blush on her face while smiling brightly.
"Mark, meet Moonlight Springs. Like you, a newcomer wishing to partake in this experience"
"Really? This is your first time too?" Moonlight nods a couple of times with barely contain the excitement
"I always wanted to try something crazy like this at least once in my life so when Tree Hugger approach me and told me about it and after a lot of consideration I decided to take it for a spin." She mentions before bringing her hands together in a fist and closer to her mouth as she continues giggling "I'm sorry! I tend to giggle a lot when I'm excited or nervous and right now I'm both!"
Tree Hugger and Fluttershy join on the chuckle "It ok Moonlight, I was the same during my first time" The pegasus reassured her.
"Speaking of which, not that I'm complaining but Fluttershy, what exactly are you doing here?"
"Hmm?" She blinks a couple of times not fully understanding the question before looking slightly hurt "Y-You don't want me to be a part of your first time?"
"No! No! I mean yes I mean! Ah, there is no easy way to say this without sounding like a pervert. Fluttershy you...you are extremely hot!" He yells out of impulse before shutting his mouth with a red face leaving everything quiet.
"Thank you" Fluttershy reply with a calm smile and a blush as she plays with her mane as Tree Hugger nods and Moonlight return to giggling. "What I meant to say is, Fluttershy it's true I don't know you a lot but you were always so scared, so timid. It even took me a while before we could talk a bit without you retreating to your hair...ah mane. I didn't think to see you here. No, you would be the last pony I know that would be into this kind of kink, no offense." He immediately turns to Tree Hugger.
"None was taken, although there is no shame in expressing love as you desired." She elaborates briefly.
"So basically when I asked you that, didn't mean like here here, I mean this whole situation kind of deal"
"Well, the truth is...I like sex...a lot" Even if she answers in a whisper Mark manages to hear that loud and clear as she nods with blush and brings her palms to her cheeks.
"It took me a while to realize it but after talking with my friend Tree Hugger and giving it a try, I realized how much I love being intimate with others when ponies pet my naughty parts while I do the same, how we pretend to be each other pets and comb our hairs, the cuddles, the kissy, kissy, the gentle touch, the friendly flirty and..." Her feathers ruffle and she shivers a little "Sorry I'm not good at dirty talking"
That was dirty talking? The human pounder before continue
"I...it ok" Mark manages to answer "So this is...like a hobby of yours?"
She nods "It started as a try but later I found myself enamored with sharing my love and kindness this deeply and before I knew it, I started to help Tree Hugger with new ponies that want to try, guide them gently into this kind of world, I know it sounds weird for me to say it but I prefer been the marefriend of all of Equus than just one pony or one herd. It's like we are a big happy family, like my animal friends!"
She pat her belly "I even have had the joy of aiding others to bare their children and maybe one day I have one of my own after I open and manage New Harmonious New District...not that I'm asking that you visit or impregnate me or anything...I mean if you wish to visit or help that would be great...B-But you don't need to feel forced or...!" She takes a deep breath and a gulp of her drink before trying again "Sorry I tend to overshare sometimes when I'm nervous."
Wow just when you thought you knew someone Mark keep blinking, surprise to find out so much about her friend.
"I hope you don't mind me helping you out"
"I...no, not really, actually I'm thankful to have a friend..." He then turns to Hugger "Or should I say friends help me out, there is plenty of stuff going throw my head right now. And in a way, this makes things far easier" He then turns to Moonlight "As for you I will be honored to help you out Moonlight, this is my first time too so I don't know how well I will do but I can try my best"
"Don't be, the important thing is for us to relax and have a good time, so don't go ahead and think you need to perform this way or another" Tree Hugger remind him "We don't even need to start right away either. Why don't we start with something simpler, tell us, Mark. What is in your mind?"
"It's kind of a complicate story and a bit of a secret."
"Nothing would leave this room. We promise" Fluttershy promised, "And this is why we brought this tea anyway."
"Oh, oh! Can I serve it, please?" Moonlight, suddenly ask and Hugger nods.
Mark still is unsure but then gets surprised when all of the sudden Moonlight wipeout her left breast showing a big areola and perky nipple before graving the kettle and serving some of her milk inside. Then pass it along and see how the other two mares do the same. He now realized that his tea so far was half full and was only hot water and some herbs inside.
"You don't need to feel forced Mark" They cover themselves again and Moonlight offers some 'milk' as Tree Hugger continues "We only want to let you know this is a safe place, you can even be vague about what is bothering you, so please allow us to help you clear your thoughts"
"...and you promise it will be kept between us?" They all nod and stare at the kettle with a mixture of surprise wonder and intrigue he gives in and extends his cup to be filled, turning the liquid from white to pink as it releases a pleasant aroma. "It smells nice, what is this?"
"Some ponies said that mother's milk is an extension of a mare's soul and heart. Here in Blossom Sprints we like to believe in that and found ways to aid others in finding peace of mind and self-realization throw a special mixture of honey, strawberry juice, various herbal leaves, and well...you just saw the special final ingredient " She winks at him. "We call it, Gaia's Milk Tea, go ahead, take a sip, it will help you put everything into perspective"
Shrugging Mark comply and they made a small toast before drinking. The beverage was very pleasant, sweet, creamy and with a faint scent of strawberry, after the first sip, Mark could feel himself relaxing and his pours opening.
"Ok then here is the thing, there is this mare I had a one-night stand who I think...I'm starting to develop feelings for her, and I think it reciprocal..."
Mark starts to explain as his eyes start to get a bit heavy while the mares listen intently.
Clop Starts
Once the human was done he sigh and take a big gulp of his drink before putting the empty cup away and sigh looking down "And that is the deal. I like this mare but I don't know even which sister or if she is the pupil, or even if she wants to be with me or not."
Being careful not to expose much, Mark only mentions that the mare he slept with had a sister, they both are nobles one of them is a teacher, and he might even have slept with her graduate pupil instead. By the time he was done Fluttershy and Moonlight had already gotten closer to him.
Mark did not notices until the pegasus have grab his hand, and looking down he saw how she look at him in concern. Smiling he sigh and look down "I must look pathetic or a pervert, don't I? Getting all carried away just because one-night stand"
She, in turn, shakes her head "No, I don't think it is, if anything I believed it cute. I know you better than that, you are not the type that can get swayed by something so simple as purely physical attraction. If it had only been sex, you wouldn't be this confused. There was a spark there, wasn't it?"
"I don't know"
"If I may ask" Moonlight join in "If she have stayed what would you have said to her Mark?"
"If she would have like to take a cup of coffee and to thank her for what happened"
"And if she has said no?"
"Then that would have been the end of it, no hard feelings promised."
Both smile and nod "Then there is only one thing left to do." Fluttershy mentions and brings his face up "Let's test out if all that was pure sex or not"
"H-How would we do that?" He asks intrigued by her proposal.
"Easy, just stare into my eyes and go with the flow, don't think just act to your impulse. Just think I'm her"
"But I don't know who she is"
"Will it matter?" She smirks "It's one of 3 mares, right? Well, there are 3 mares here. So just pretend we are all of them, don't overthink it, and go with the flow until you find the answer."
Thinking it over, Mark nods and grabs her cheeks. "You are a great friend Fluttershy"
Following her instruction Mark ever so slowly starts to approach her and close her eyes, she does the same until their lips connect, gently. No force was needed as for a moment they only enjoy each other contact. Soon Mark opens his mouth and his tongue requests access which Fluttershy grants it and then a moan follows another and another as their tongue dances.
One of his hands sneaked its way inside her piece of cloth and start to unrobe her while gently massaging her left erect nipple, exchanging clockwise circles, light pinches at her nipple, and big yet gentle grab at her whole breast. All of which served on increasing the number and volume of her moans.
Feeling someone kissing his neck he ends the hug and turns to Moonlight whose eyes have turned lustful "Don't forget about me."
"Of course" Smiling Mark goes and plants a slightly stronger kiss on her lips as she invades his mouth hungrily, her tongue thrashing around like a starving beast.
The initial impression catches him off guard but he manages to recover and brings his two arms around the mares as his hands venture south and start to massage their asses, Fluttershy having the bigger one while Moonlight had a softer one.
Exchanging kisses and grunts the 3 continue their make-up session as the mare's hands start to work on undressing him, grabbing all of his attention until he heard his pants unzip and be yanked in one pull.
Startle he look down and saw Tree Hugger taking a long lick on her rock-hard dick while fluttering her eyelash at him as her companions assist in removing the last piece of garment, exposing his dick out and almost in synchronization. Fluttershy kisses him deeply at the same time that Tree Hugger swallows his meat road whole and uses both hands to start to finger the mares, resulting in everyone moaning harder. Having to break the kiss Mark's eyes start to get crossed while the mare's back arches forward, as sigh of their orgasm seconds away. "H-Holy Stars! Y-You really KNow what you are doing, don't you Tree Ahg Hugger!"
Once the mares have their orgasm The earth pony let them catch their breath and uses her now damp hands to start rubbing his dick with, her saliva plus Moonlight and Fluttershy combine juices serving as a very pleasant, warm lube "I have plenty of practice, but you are still holding back Mark" She delivery slow down and give him some tentative lick on his tip denying access to a release.
"Please, I'm so close" He begs and close his eyes yet she refused to speed up and her companions hug his arms preventing him from finishing the job.
"You sure are, but you are still seeing just us and the mares in your mind. Please, don't worry about our feelings, this is our idea and you can make it up to us afterward. But right now, you need to try and go along, now if one of the mares you are fanning over was in my position how would you react?"
Summoning as much strength as possible he tries to concentrate and do as she said, the smell of the tea was heavy and started to cloud his mind, but soon he manage to have a clear image of Twilight smiling at him as she was licking his road making him smile and feel at peace, more so when on each of his sides were the other two princesses all smiling lustfully at him, an expression he soon copies.
"My beautiful, horny princesses" Once he relaxes his body the mares let him go and Tree Hugger resumes her work until Mark grabs her head, as she smiles in anticipation and excitement.
"Inviting more mares to join us? Your sister and your pupil no less! You are such a kink one, aren't you Siri ?" Pulling Tree Hugger's head he made her swallow his dick whole making him shiver and ark his back before staring at Fluttershy "God this is so wrong! What we were thinking? If anyone finds out it will be our ruin" He gets closer to the pegasus and give her a small peck on the lips.
"But that is what makes it so hot, isn't it? You can't deny it anymore, right? Yeah, I bet this is making you so wet, just as it making me so hard right now!" He starts to kiss her more intensely and lets go of Tree Hugger as he brings his hands to each side of Fluttershy's face and firmly against her face and he stole her breath away before breaking the kiss with a pop.
He then turn to Moonlight who until now was tending to his neck with kisses and licks. "As for you, saying yes to this?! With your sister?! Oh, you are a naughty mare, aren't you Lucy, I'm gonna have to give you such a good spanking!" Getting drunk in his lust he grabs both mares from the waste and starts making up with Moonlight as the moans keep on increasing.
And so for the rest of the night, things stay as intense as the human on his mind was having an out-of-this-world foursome with the rulers of Equestria while in reality, the 3 mares he was with were slowly starting to see stars which each new position they tried.
"YES, YES, YES!!! Grab my tail! Pull my mane, punish me, Mr. Mayor! I have been a bad filly!" Moonlight yells out in euphoria before resuming devouring Fluttershy's pussy while Tree Hugger makes out with her and massages her breast as Mark keeps drilling the unicorn doggy style.
Deciding to start with her since it was her first time, the 3 tried to go slow, especially after finding out she still had her hymen but the unicorn had other plans and finding pain exhilarating soon demanded them to be rougher with her. Nothing that while against at first, they decided to comply and they all started to have more fun.
"Quite the mouth you have there, Lucy" Chuckling briefly Mark keeps seeing himself pounding Luna's succulent bubble ass as his hand lingers in her right buttcheck with his pinkie finger getting closer to her pucker ring. "Seem like someone needs a lesson in discipline"
Shivering she felt how he start to insert his thumb in her pussy and his pinkie on her pucker at the same time making her moan on Fluttershy's pussy and her eyes roll back.
Moving some pillows around Fluttershy hold her legs up in the air for more easy access as Mark gently massages her tights and lines up his soaked dick to her entrance. A spent Moonlight was lining herself to sit on Fluttershy. Back facing Mark as facing Moonlight who was moving some of her messy manes before starting to make out and bring her into a hug, exciting the human even more.
"You poor thing" Grabbing her ass Mark lift the pegasus "So reserved" He start to tease her by rubbing his dick against her entrance "So kind and collective" He insert just the tip "So pent up, bet you have been just BEGGING for someone to do this. No matter how wrong it would be."
"Y-Yess! She shivers in anticipation
"Say it!" Mark orders milking the situation as much as he could
"F-Fuck me! Please put that dick inside of me! I can't take it anymore, I need you!"
"With pleasure!"
Her words ring deep into his heart and like a switch Mark rams her with all his force, making her grab Moonlight and use her pussy as a pillow to scream at the top of her lungs as she does the same in Tree Hugger's mouth.
Mark takes out his dick as fast as he gets it inside stopping halfway before ramming inside again, and repeating the process over and over with grunts and moans, while his hands squeeze her ass. Found himself more than horny as he saw Celestia's breast dancing in front of him while she eat her sister out who in turn was furiously making out with Twilight.
Things get hotter when he hears Celestia chuckle and start moving her hips around grabbing hold of his dick with her inner walls and moving it even deeper inside her until Mark could feel something round at the tip of his dick
Did...did she move her inside and sucked my dick soo deep that I'm touching her's..no that is impossible! Is she an expert contortionist?!!
The experience was more than surreal but not unwelcoming as he joyfully kept going.
Laughing for no reason, Mark holds his chest and tries to catch his breath on a nearby couch as mares crawl toward him. His dick refused to go limp.
"I have cum so much now, how am I still hard?" He asks with a big grin on his face as Tree Hugger sits on his lap and brings her arms around his neck.
"Gaia's Milk is also a quite potent natural aphrodisiacs and performance enhancer. One whole cup can give your body the same energy as a mare in heat when it is times of merging one soul. As long as it last you would only need a couple of minutes and would be ready to go again."
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
She gives him a small peck on the lips "I was convinced it will be imply consider everything, will using it be a problem?" She asks in concern as Mark smile, catches his second breath, and brings her closer while holding her rock-hard ass.
"None, you were always quite the smart mare Twinkly. Let me give you a golden star" He was about to pull her down but she stop and put her finger on his lips
"Not yet" Blinking a couple of times Mark sees Tree Hugger once more. "Now that your third eye has opened. Answer me this Mark, do you love me?" She starts to rub her entrance against his stiff dick.
"W-What?" Mark managed to stutter in between shiver at her teasing.
"Do you love me?" She repeats "Or Fluttershy or Moonlight?" She turned her head so he could see the mares in question making up and taking glances at him with lustful eyes
"We have just met, we have only connected our souls on the physical realm, we could aid you to explore pleasures you are yet to experience. But I need you to say it first. Say that you love me, and rather than a fling..." She arcs her chest forward and approaches her chest toward him "... this will be a start of something magnificent, you can drink as much as you want, whenever you want it, and from whoever you wish for."
Caught off guard Mark could only stare at her perky bright pink nipple and petite areola for a moment until finding his answer "I'm sorry Tree Hugger" He stop her and pull her away a little as he look at her with pity "But that would be a lie, as incredible as that offer sound and as mind-blowing the sex sounds...I don't think this could be more than just physical attraction. I'm sorry"
Rather than disappointment, she smiles calmly same as the other mares as they nod.
She gets closer to his ear and brings him into a hug as she slowly starts to insert herself into him "Don't be sorry, be happy you just found your answer." Moaning softly his vision got blurry again and when it return he saw Twilight once more, drying his lips and watering his mouth as he imprint her mature grown naked body on the back of his head. "Now, what was that about a golden star?"
"Oh Twinkly, how much have you grown. Before you were such a beautiful mare but now, somehow. You have grown even more enticing" Getting lost in his fantasy again he squeeze her ass hard as she start to ride him cowgirl style rapidly until his dick was nice and damp before stooping and winking at him.
"I'm so glad to see your chakra cleanse of all impurity" Turning around Mark gets excited when she lines his dick to her asshole and thanks to her fluids manage to insert it with relative ease, on the warm and tight space, yet she refuses to move or let him pull out. "Now we can transcend and truly merge souls. Grabbing his hands Tree Hugger put them both on her breast for him to play with before grabbing her legs and like Fluttershy raising them until they are near her head. "It's time"
Confused Mark saw how Celestia and Luna were crawling toward him and starting to scissor each other while Celestia's hand was reaching Twilight's pussy. At first, she start to finger her pupil, filling the room with their combined moans, but then his eyes wide to dinner plates when all of the sudden Celestia insert her whole hand inside of Twilight, and what was more he felt something grabbing his dick while inside the mare.
"TWinky!? C_Siry?! Did you just...? aught!" His eyes got cross-eyes when the hand start to move up and down making the space even tighter and he ark his head back from experiencing a hand job like no other he had before, bringing his brain into overdrive as he violently paint Twilight inside with his semen until it overflow, starting a chain reaction starting with Twilight and ending with Luna.
Catching their breath everyone takes glances at one another before laughing at nothing in particular and keeps going like wild animals.
Clop End and the next day at the crack of dawn
Leaning against the doorframe and drench in his sweat and a combination of bodily fluids the mayor pants heavily as he stumbles his way to the kitchen for a much-needed glass of water, as he was pretty much drained in more than one sense. Behind him, the mares were in a similar position with big grins on their faces and twitching legs as they slept contently.
Holy crap was that intense! I was half expecting it from Tree Hugger but who would have thought, Fluttershy has moved too
Tapping his hands everywhere, he finally supports himself against the sink, turns the faucet, and not bothering to look for a glass just drinks as much water as he could directly from the source like a man dying of thirst until he finally comes back to life.
He loudly sighs in satisfaction and smile while looking throw a window in front of him.
And most importantly I finally got my answer Looking to his right he finds an empty glass, fills it with more water and makes a toast into the air
It wasn't just me being a pervert, I felt for you. He lift his cup before gulping it down and sigh once more And whichever princess was, regardless if it is a yes or no. I will ask you for that cup of coffee.
He declare to himself as his naked figure baths on the sunlight of the morning.
"Thanks again for everything Tree Hugger, seriously." Mark smiles brightly as he watches how some workers load various wooden boxes filled with Gaia's milk bottles inside the train before turning to the mayor and Fluttershy who were virtually glowing. "This shipment will certainly help the release corpse during the heat week."
"No thanks needed, I’m always happy to help a fellow mayor in need, please take care." She goes and give him a hug as to whisper something in his ear, "And if you ever need help again, my door is always open."
Chuckling a little he nods and hug her back understanding what she meant by 'door', "Oh trust me, I will keep it in mind."
He breaks the hug and turns to Fluttershy, "And don't worry Fluttershy, your secret is safe with me."
"Thanks, is not that I'm embarrassed or anything, it's just... I'm not ready for everypony to know much of that side of me...yet." She confesses with a blush and looks away.
A whistle in the distance lets them know the train is about to leave. "Well, that is my cue, I hope I could stay longer, but duty calls. Say hi to Moondancer for me, okay?"
"Will do, real shame she couldn't join us, but it looks like she had a busy day as well." Both mares wave at him goodbye as Mark rushes to board the train and sighs in content once he finds his seat and on his way back to Canterlot.
Boy! Was Drusy right for me needing to do this. I feel way better now. Speaking of... Opening his eyes he search his pocket and pull out his scroll. Better tell her how did it go, so she can bent all the bad sex puns out of her system.
Rolling his eyes with a chuckle, Mark starts the call yet after the third fail trial he looks at his scroll with worry. Weird, she never misses a single call. Did something happen? Shaking his head he tried to calm down.
Snap out it Mark! You just get rid of your stress for pit sake! Her battery must have died, or is neck deep in paperwork. He convinces himself to close his eyes and takes a small nap during the rest of his trip back home.
Once he arrived to Canterlot Mark was fully prepared to tackle the day with a smile and renown spirit yet instead of Drusilla, one of the princesses or any of his friends who received the mayor were 3 unicorn dress in black trench coats and fedoras with neutral faces who immediately approach him the second they lay eyes on him.
"Mayor Mark?" One of them asked.
"Yeah?"
He shows him the royal iron seal of the royal guards and removes his hat same as his fellow guards, all of which look at the mayor in sorrow, "I'm Detective Sore Eye, private affairs. There are some bad news we need to inform you sir, I'm afraid we need you to come with us."
"What? Why? What is happening?" He asks in worry by their expression as they exchange glances.
"We would explain everything once we are in the castle sir, I promise, but as of right now. It would be better if we don't make a scene."
Looking around to see ponies starting to take glances he decided to comply and follow them back to the royal castle. Where he was guide into an interrogation room for some reason before showing him some pictures he definitely didn't expect.
"Silver Tongue, is dead?!" He asks in astonishment putting down a picture of him laying on his jail cell with a swallow face and blood everywhere.
"And got public almost immediately." Sore Eye nods and put the documents away, "As part of a rumor stating that you kill him."
"That is ridiculous, I just came back from Blossom Sprints. I wasn't even near him at the time. Why am I even a suspect?"
"Because according to Silvers lawyer right before his murder, he made a change to his will." The detective hands over a copy of said will to Mark, "Care to read out loud the 5th paragraph?"
"I Silver Tongue hereby leave the monkey..." He sighs in frustration and rolls his eyes before continuing "...the monkey Mark all my earthly possessions?" He re-read that sentence a couple of times before looking at the detective, "He’s leaving me everything he has?"
"Keep reading please."
Unsure he continues, "...as well as the rights of my biography as long as said income on its sales is used only in the personal benefit of said creature? What?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at the detectives, "What does that mean?"
"It means that you are contractually obligated to enjoy the rips of his works for your personal gain and nothing else. And considering how much a scandal like this is circulating, it almost guarantees said book would be a bestseller."
"Congratulations sir." The other detective replies with a stern gaze, "Seems like you are days away from being a millionaire, in the worst case scenario."
"And because this happened moments before his death." He sighs again, "Now I understand, but you have to believe me I have nothing to do with it. I just found out about all of this, ask my secretary."
"We were gonna do just that during your absence, but unfortunately by the time we reached her home the place was trashed and we apprehend a suspect leaving the premises and on his way to send this to you."
His eyes widen when they show a letter inside a plastic bag that simply says, "We warned you, now you would listen if you want your bitch back. You damn monkey! I swear your existence is simply illogical." all with cut out letters from magazines.
He is left cold by the revelation as Sore Eyes break his stoic gaze and sighs in pity, "I assure you, we are doing everything in our power to rescue her, but as of right now this letter gives us all the clues we need, whoever is after you, is more interested in harming your public image than your persona. Still that doesn't mean your life isn't at risk. All that is happening are clear signs of a vendetta against you and they are escalating."
"What should I do?" Mark asks in a mixture of fear and concern.
"For now, it would be best if the suspect thinks they have the upper hand, so until we finish this case. We would have to put you in pretend house arrest here in the castle. And would release a public statement giving your condolence on the passing of Silver Tongue. "
"That would only make me look even more suspicious if ponies already think I killed him."
"Precisely, your attackers must believe they have complete control over you, it would make them overly confident, and prone to mistakes. They don't know we acquired the letter before it reached you, nor that we are already looking for Ms. Dracul, and for her safety and the case, it would be best if we keep it that way as much as possible.
"I...I understand officers, I would help however I can." He nods once before remembering something, "But what about heat week? It is almost here and I can’t stay in the castle when it starts. You both are stallions, so you must understand, I can't be here, I made a promise...The release corps."
They both sigh and shake their heads "We can't risk it. Out there you would be a target. I'm afraid this year you would have to serve the cause with..." Sore Eyes physically shivers from fear"...the female corps on duty."
He goes stiff and gulp knowing full well the stories on how intense and even violent they can get during such dangerous times. "I'm sorry sir." The detective looked at him in sorrow. "Chances are the criminals would make contact with you pretty soon, so with your permission we would like to tap into your phone."
"S-Sure, anything if it means we can close the case sooner." He nods rapidly.
"Thank you sir, in that case as soon as they contact you, stall as much as possible, keep them in the line for as long as we can and just play along with any demand they want."
"And what about the will? Clearly those changes were made under threat."
"They will continue in effect so as to not raise suspicion. Right now we must make them look like everything is going according to their plan."
"I...I understand." He sighs in defeat and the detective call for a couple of guards.
"Thanks for your cooperation, rest assured, as our majesty's honored guest you would keep your privilege of free transit throughout the castle minus the restricted section and would be escorted by at least two guards at all times. Is there any question left sir?"
"Just one and it is not a question and more of a plea. The Gaia's milk crate I brought. They are meant to be used by the release corps, their properties..."
"Don't worry sir, we are aware of the effects of said drink." Sore Eyes smile and nods, "As a member of the release corps you can trust me, they will be delivered safely."
"Thanks." And with and after enchanting his scroll before handing it over Mark kept his head low as two guards escorted him back to his room where he plumped into his bed and yelled into his pillow.
For pete sake! I just got off the train! Can't I have ONE day without someone plotting against me?!
Once he finishes venting he turns around to look at the ceiling and sighs. Please Drusy, stay safe.
A knock on the door grabbed his attention as he stood up and raised an eyebrow before getting slightly startled when he heard the voice of Celestia on the other side.
"Mark? Are you there?"
"Celestia? Wha...why are you here?" The mayor asks, approaching the door.
"I was informed of what happened to Silver...and Drusilla and I'm sorry, would it be ok if I come in?"
With a tired sigh he open the door and show her a weak smile as she look at the human in concern, "Yeah, with how crazy things are getting it will be nice seeing a friendly face right about now."
Smiling Celestia nods and walks inside. "But are you sure you can spare the time? Last thing I want is taking you away from your royal duties and..."
Celestia interrupts him by raising her hand, "Today is a slow day, and Twilight is helping me with most of it. I have the time." She reassures him before sitting on a couch and invites him to sit next to him.
Doing so he just comply and sit next to her before sighing deeply, "You know it’s kind of funny."
"What is?"
"Before, I would be just nervous and anxious expecting to hear an earful or maybe an event or some emergency happening that required the ruler of Equestria to speak with the mayor of Canterlot."
"Can't a friend visit another to see if they are ok?"
"Oh sure, it just takes some time to get past the crown, but right now. The only thing in my mind is my secretary and how much in danger she is right at the moment."
Celestia remained quiet for a moment and after an awkward silence she put her hand on his shoulder, "Mark, what happened to Ms. Dracul. I can't imagine how afraid and concerned you are with her safety, but I assure, that we will find her."
"Oh, I'm not worried about that, Drusy can be one tough bitch if push come to shove." He laugh to himself, "I half expected her to save herself leaving a trail of bodies behind her and a bloody clipboards on her hands ready to work again." He looks down in exhaustion, "But right now the only thing I can do now is wait and I hate that."
He clench his fist, "Whoever is attacking me, they know how to press my buttons, and now because I lowered my guard my friend is...!" He shake his head, "You know what the worst part is?" Raising his head he finally looked at Celestia, "Even with all this shit, even with my friend's life in danger. I STILL have to remain calm and collective as a mayor. Celestia I...I'm not made of stone. Right now, the only thing in my mind is how much I want to punch something and scream at the four winds."
To his confusion the princess only looked up and brought her index finger to her chin deep in thought until she smiled and stood up extending her hand to him. "Come with me."
"Where are we going?" Mark asked, grabbing her hand as she led them outside his room.
"Somewhere where you can punch and scream as much as you want." She answer cryptically and continue to guide, opening secret passages and using a torch to used as light through a dark corridor until they finally enter a well equipped, light up and clean indoor gym with a mirror wall on it.
"Why does the castle have a secret indoor gym?" Mark asks while looking around with intrigued.
"Mostly for privacy." The princess shrug while walking to the center of the room, "This is where me and Luna come for our daily workout."
That caught him off guard, "This is your personal gym?!"
"What, do you think our slim and healthy figure just happened?" She smirk and pose in front of him.
"N-no I mean everyone imagine, but we never saw you and the idea of either of you even sweating..." She poke his nose with her fingers
"And that is why we keep our routines a secret." She turns around and continue her tour, "A place were we and our closest friends can work out in peace without pesky press, judgement or leering eyes."
She stopped beside a punching bag, "The perfect place to vent some frustration, don't you say?"
"What? You mean...?"
"Sure! Go ahead give it a good punch," She put herself behind the bag "Vent some of that anger."
"Really? Mark slowly makes his way toward her as she nods.
"Trust me, I have been on your horse...ah your shoes before, we are not made of stone. Give it a go, release some of that anger." She starts to shake the bag a bit until Mark gives it a good punch.
"Ah, come on Mark, I know you could do better than that, punch it like you mean it!"
He does the same.
"Je, is that a punch or a love tap? Oh invite me dinner first." She mock talk as he increase the strength
"Oh I almost felt that, is the mayor all talk."
"Enough!" He punch it properly this time as Celestia smile.
"Now we are talking, now tell me how you feel, what would you say to those that took your friend?"
Starting to pant he closed his eyes, "I get it, I wasn't the best mayor." He punched it again, "I screwed things up at first" He repeated the action, "I got tunnel vision and turned my aggression to the upper class." He delivered a kick.
"But I changed," Punch "I saw my errors," Punch, punch "I tried my best to make things fair for everyone!" He keeps punching while speaking, "And you still keep whining! No matter what I try is, Mark the bad guy, Mark the incompetent, Mark the fucking monkey! You self absorbed, snooty, whiny brats, who throw a sissy fit when they take their tea!” He started to punch the bag more frenetically.
"My patients just ran out with you, I'm gonna find you and if you dare touch a hair on my friend I swear, I will personally throw you into a cell on a gurney!" The final punch manages to slide Celestia a couple of inches as he stops and lets his hands limp as he pants.
"Better?" Celestia checks on him once he was done with his assault
"Yeah...Yeah" He answered in between pants, "I still worry, but I feel a bit better after venting. And you say that you too come here and do the same?"
She nods once, "It can be cathartic, isn't it? As long as it is healthy and used in moderation. Luna, Twilight, Cadence and Shining Armor. We all come here from time to time when we have rough days, and from now on, you are welcome too, as long as you keep it between us."
"My lips are sealed. And thanks Celly, this means a lot." He promises with a nod which Celestia replies with her own until she looks at him with confusion and intrigued. Looking at her direction the human notices how a straight line on his shoulder was glowing a deep purple and poking out of his shirt, as a bizarre tattoo. Making him cover it immediately.
Turning her attention to him the princess remains confused. "Sorry, for that," Checking the mark is gone he stops covering his arm and chuckles briefly, "It kind of shows if I'm very agitated."
"What is it?"
"Just a little something from my time traveling Equss. And a tad personal so I appreciate it if we don't talk about it. Don't worry, it's nothing bad if that's what you are thinking."
"It wasn't, but okay, if you don't wish to tell me about it. I will respect your decision. Now would you like me to show the rest of the gym."
"Sure." He nods eagerly and they start the tour, "And well since we are here, I'm curious." His eyes start to trail toward the bench presses on one side of the room.
"I'm not telling you how much I lift," Celestia immediately answered with a wink, "I'd rather show you if our path crossed."
"You beat me by like one inch, okay, in that case could I at least know which princess can lift the most weight?"
"Oh that is easy, that would be me." She casually answered with pride.
With a barrage of flashes, Mark finishes his press conference at the entrance of the castle with neutrality as the press writes furiously about what he has to say about the claims of him being responsible for the death of Silver Tongue. Wearing his finest suit and a black wristband on his left arm to show mourning.
By now the human was mentally exhausted after spending the majority of almost 3 hours dismissing all sorts of theories that went from understandable to downright ridiculous, starting with the idea of him hiring a hit man, using a teleportation spell, learning magic to use the said spell, killing him before departing to claim an alibi, and doing his best not to laugh from some of the most outrageous theories, like he has some "human type of magic" that allows him to control the brain and make him kill himself, or manipulate the earth so giants hands finish the job or have like a doom countdown where the victims die days after he touches it. Overall, the whole press conference was going just like he had expected but that didn't mean it was still draining.
"...in conclusion, while it is true that Silver and I didn't speak on the best of terms, his passing took me by surprise and saddest me to no end, at the same time. He was a pony that went stray from his path and committed crimes that harm many but in his final days, I at least am happy to know he was on his way to redemption. He sure would be miss" He sigh in exhaustion
"Mayor Mark, Mayor Mark! What can you tell us about your new living arrangements?"
"I believe there is little I can say that I haven't already say, my staying is temporally both from a lack of home and to cooperate with the authorities, during the investigation"
"Is it true that you plan for this so you will be forced to stay in the castle during heat week?"
"Are you aiming to gratify the entire female guard's corps by yourself?"
"Is it true you have a lock of hair of the princesses to sniff every night!?"
"What do you have to say about the claims of you having two penises? The ponies have the right to know!"
"No more questions!" A Zebra female guard yells before she and a pegasus royal guard with green lime fur escort the human back to the palace as the press keep yelling questions until they close the door on them.
Once out of that chaos, Mark went into a nearby chair and sigh in exhaustion "Well! That took a turn for the weird" He exclaims to his guards who nod in agreement.
"If you ask me, it got weird the moment that reporter ask if you could turn walls into insect zombies" The zebra guard mentions making all 3 laughs.
"Yeah, I swear at that moment I was wondering if he was asking me that or quoting some bizarre horror movie plot" He sigh and look down in sorrow "And I fear this is just the beginning, by tomorrow morning the street of Canterlot would be filled to the brim with all sort of wacky rumors and arguments of me planning or not all this mess"
"Don't worry sir, that is the thing about gossip, is transitional, the moment a new and more enticing topic arrives, the citizen will forget all about this whole mess, in like a month or two in the worst-case scenario." The pegasus guard tells trying to console him "Plus I'm sure once we capture the real criminals and clear the air things would be able to go back to normal"
"Thank you, madam" He nods and looks at them "Both of you actually, as a matter of fact. I have been rude to you ever since you were assigned to me. I haven't even asked you your names yet"
"That is ok sir, issuing a statement can sure take away the time of anyone." The Zebra dismiss him with a chuckle "My name is Uru"
"And I'm Alba" The pegasus replied "We will be your personal bodyguards for the unforeseen future"
"Yeah I manage to gather as much, hope we can get along then, Ms. Alba and Ms. Uru"
"You have nothing to worry about sir, we are professional and this is certainly not the first time we have guarded an important figure" Uru reassured him, and with things having calmed down enough the human was able to notice his new escort more closely.
Saying that Uru was in shape was an understatement with how moderate bulky her figure was, which told anyone who look at her how easy she could rip anyone apart like they were made of paper and various scars that show how she wasn't new to fights. Yet her cyan eyes and calm smile gave her an almost caring air to her, which turn into alluring with how her standard golden armor was barely holding together her big chest giving anyone a mental image of the massive orbs hidden behind, not helped by the black lock of hair poking out of her helmet hiding her right eye giving her a mysterious air to it.
Alba, on the other hand, was more on the petite side with a slim body that compliment well with her armor, her long dark green fur and tail and while not as big as Uru a certainly big chest judging by the bulk in her chest. Ironically enough, despite her looks and clean body, it was Alba who looks the more intimidating of the two with almost seductive half-close violet eyes, small makeup on her face, and how she occasionally kept her hand near her dagger at all times. Like she was waiting for anyone to give her a reason to use it.
"I certainty tell. Looking at you, I feel much better having you on my side"
"Thank you, sir, and please outside the public eye, you can drop the honorifics, no reason to be so formal all the time" Uru suggests and he immediately agrees
"Right, and you can do the same, no need to calm me sir all the time if you want to. Something tells me, the 3 of us will have time to get to know each other for the time being, especially with how my agenda is pretty much open for the time being"
Mark wasn't sure but for a second there he thought seeing Alba's wings stand up briefly before shaking her head and nodding.
"Couldn't have to say it better myself" Uru then goes and hug his arm catching him by surprise "And since that is the case, it might be wise if you could know the layout of the castle. For the security, of course, knowing what routes to take in case of an emergency where you would need to escape and what not."
"Ah...sure, as I say, I have nothing at the moment, so I could go for a little tour of the castle." Mark agrees still unsure of Uru's actions but seeing how Alba didn't flinch at her, he thought it wasn't that big deal.
Ponies tend to be more friendly and prone to more physical shows of affection after all. This must be normal for them.
He concluded internally as they began their tour, Uru refusing to let go of his arm keeping a firm yet not painful grip on it while Alba on the other hand resorted to flying ahead to scout the area, resulting in him having to turn away in more than one occasion when she leans against a corner and pokes her head making her armor skirt to lift slightly and showing the mayor how she only has her modest and slightly frilly white panties with a pink heart on the back underneath all that metal.
"So Uru, what made you change from a sailor into a royal guard?"
That catches her by surprise and they both stop to look at him "How did you know I was in the navy before?" Uru asks in surprise as Mark merely points at a tattoo of a griffin holding an anchor with some letters around it.
"Officium, Honor, Fortitudo. That roughly translates to Duty, Honor, and Bravery, which are the motto of a decorated officer, and the symbol is clearly from the navy, is it not?"
She looks at her tattoo before looking at him with a raised eyebrow "It is, but how do you know about navy symbols?"
He simply shrugs and shakes his head "Comes with the territory I suppose. I mean there is the Day Of The Fallen, Veterans Day, and Golden Spear Week to name a few. As a mayor, I must make a speech honoring all the brave males and females serving the country for all of those celebrations plus introduce or/and hand medals to the occasional pony been honored for something. Asking for tips and suggestions an officer told me to make sure to address all of them by the correct terminology like marine, soldier, sailors, and so on."
"Impressive" Alba nods with a finger under her chin "Can you guess where I served before, Mark?"
"I'm gonna a say...Airman"
"Why? Because I have wings?" She asks with a raised eyebrow and starts to get angry but he calls her bluff and crosses his arms once Uru finally lets him go.
"No, because the two strike cuts on your left ear" He rebottle and she stops in surprise as he smirks "They told me the story, it really small and easy to miss but in honor of Commander Hurricane who got a scar saving Equestria all members on the Airforce give themselves a very small scar on the same place. Nice work, by the way, I barely notice it"
"Well, well, well, smart AND good for details. Not bad Mark" Alba smirk and get closer "makes me wonder if you would catch the meaning of my tattoo"
"What tattoo?" He raised an eyebrow in confusion until Uru stop her advances.
"Ignore her! It doesn't have anything to do with the force" She laughs nervously before clearing her throat and glaring at Alba "We are in the open for cry out loud! Wait a little, would you?" She harshly whisper turning them both around, confusing the mayor even more but before he could ask what was happening Uru interrupt again.
"Anyway, let's resume" She turns around and show around the palace "As you may know, the castle is fully equipped with a series of secret passage spread across the building depending on the situation"
"Yeah, I was informed of secret tunnels to get in or out the building in case of an invasion. But most of them were filled up recently to stop enemies like Chrysalis from entering."
They nod in agreement "That is true, various passages now lead to dead ends because of that" Alba explains before leaning against the door "But some of them are still pretty much in used, for easy escapes into established panic rooms, case in point" She goes to a statue of a mare that Mark briefly confused by the aquaria constellation on how it despite a woman pouring water from a vase into a small pound, she grabs one of her arms and pull them upwards and over the shoulder of say mare revealing a fake wall next to her leading into a dark corridor with some glowing mushrooms acting as a source of light. "After you sir" She performs a short yet exaggerated bow.
"Already? Wouldn't you like to show me more secret passages before?" He asks exchanging between the two.
"What is the rush?" Uru gets behind him and lightly starts pushing him forward "Don't you want to see the place? Come on, you are gonna love that panic room, in particular, the way the princess order their construction made the place look more like a gaming room, it even has a pool table. We could go for a game if you like"
Ah, I see now! This two want to help me relax forget all the insanity going on outside...and/or wish to laze around for a bit while protecting. Well, as much as I would like to be doing some work, I gain nothing by being stressed, plus Drusy always told me not to be such a workaholic, I suppose I could use a little bit of fun
Understanding their intention he decided to take their offer and enter the place followed by Uru and then Alba who close the door, the human failed to realize how both of them were licking their lips.
Despite the light of the mushrooms, the walk throws the passage was fairly dark and moist, making the human feel like he was very close to a river. "Kind of moist in here don't you think? Does this passage get near the waterfall atop of the mountain?"
"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't" Alba reply with a smirk and a shrug before giggling "But don't think too much about it Sir, trust me. Soon you would understand why the place is like that, and will just LOVE the view"
Mark keep looking at both strange by that answer but decided to comply and play along for the moment. Soon a faint sound catch his ear and as they went deeper and deeper he start to hear water running, which seems to be coming from one side of the walls.
Said sound kept increasing until finally, they stop when the walls of rock ended and were replaced by blue tiles making it look like they were entering the inside of a pool, and also had a series of small rectangular holes on the left side of it, which also seems to be where the sound of water was coming from.
Confused he stares at the holes and could almost hear some giggles among the running water, turning to his guides. The two guards only have a fit of giggles of their own, wiggle their eyebrows, and silently invite him to take a peek.
Now more than intrigue, Mark does just that, finding a transparent glass in the whole giving him a view of deep steam fog.
Squinting his eyes he managed to see a figure inside the fog who seems to be the source of the chuckling, once his eyes adjust they immediately wide when the steam clears out and from the other side he saw a mare with pink fur and long green mane cover in soap and barely concealing her modest breast by two locks of hair as she takes a shower, not only that but from his position, he could see other mares entering or leaving what was clearing a mares shower.
"What the...?" He was about to pull away when he heard a piece of metal fall behind him followed by a bulky body pressing against his own pinning him against the wall. On his back he could feel two big hard points poking at him, letting him know that Uru was currently topless.
"Quite the view isn't it?" Alba come from the side and whispered into his ear, as Mark could only turn his head slightly at her in surprise and slight fear from her mischievous smirk. "Not even many know of this little secret we royal guards have"
"The hell is this! Alba this is a clear violation of those poor mares' privacy, these holes need to be covered up in..." He was stopped when she suddenly planted a long soft kiss on his mouth and tongue wrest him a little, before letting go with a wet pop.
"I loved it when you try to ignore your excitement. It's cute how you are thinking about their concern, but you see there is one tinsy problem with that claimed sir" She emphasized her point by poking his nose.
"The female royal guards put the holes there in the first place" Uru respond starting to nuzzle the top of his head with her chin. "And all those mares are clearly aware someone might be watching"
"What?!" He tries to look at her but Alba keeps his head still and slowly makes him look back at the shower and to his surprise he saw how some of the mares were winking or even licking their lips while playing with themselves, looking directly at him
"Build by a particular pervert general with a voyeur fetish, from before Princess Luna return. She used to come here and give a personal peep show to anyone that wanted. Don't worry they can't see you, the mystery of someone may or may not be watching is what makes it hotter." She plants another kiss on his cheeks as Uru starts to explore his chest. "The royal guards are more than aware of its existence"
"Kind of like a casual secret of ours, but don't feel pressured, and please feel free to tell everyone about it" Uru adds with a chuckle.
"Uru, Alba what is gotten into you? Why are you...the heat! It came early for you two!" Mark yells now realizing what was happening as they both laugh and start to work on his pants.
They share a laugh, not interested in denying the claim.
"You say it like is a bad thing, don't go around and claiming to have the high ground now mister," Uru tells him as Alba gets on her knees and in front of his crouch before helping Uru pull down his pants. "You are the one that has been going around with the musk of 3 mares on you"
Mark suddenly remember the warning Drusilla told him and how he totally forgot to bathe in tomato juice.
SHHIIT!
"Alba and I were handling our heat just fine, but that scent" She takes a whiff of his hair and sighs in euphoria before removing his shirt "The musk of a virile stallion satisfying no, one, no two, but 3 mares? Well, a mare can resist only so much."
He could feel Alba shiver as she press her nose against his crotch "I have been dying to give this bad boy a good long kiss ever since I took a whiff of you"
He tries to struggle but Uru makes it clear how that was a pointless endeavor "Ah, you still want to play hard to get sir? Don't worry we will gladly help you relax" She touches a nearby mushroom causing the entire room to go dark. "There, all better"
"Aw but this way he can't see my tattoo, oh well this is also kinky" Alba chuckled and start to tease his legs "Don't you agree, sir? It's almost like a little game, just enjoy the show, and let me and Uru take good care of you"
"Just a warning, once you go stripes there is no going back" She jokes as they both laugh a little until something catches their attention. A new source of light suddenly appeared in between the two mares.
"Where did that mushroom come from?" Alba asks perplexed and goes to reach it, only to find out it was way longer than a mushroom
Oh no, Mark's eyes wide in horror.
"Wait a minute, sir are those glowing tattoos forming in your arm?" Uru, ask in surprise, as the human suddenly has a micro flashback as he talks with a humanoid albino cobra with a very elegant multicolor dress.
...until you learn how to control them fully, be careful with your hexes, if anyone where to see even one of them fully formed before that time...well the power they hold inside may go out of control and could potentially cost the life of whoever had the misfortune of catching a glimpse of them...
"No!" In a panic Mark ducks and escape the two covering his glowing arm with his blazer.
Startle and confused the mares try to find him only to fall unconscious by a high-speed and precise poke at their forehead that presses a nervous point.
Finding another mushroom Mark manages to light the room again and pant leaning on a wall as his bodyguard rest peacefully in front of him. Looking at his arm again he see the markings faded once more making him sigh in relief.
That was close, a little more and things could have gotten extremely ugly He look at the guards once again and close his eyes Now I need to deal with you two He takes a moment to admire Uru's breast seeing them as hard as the rest of her muscle with small areolas that were almost hypnotic with the rest of her stripes.
Not bad, no! Focus! Think! Think!
After coming with something he brings the two into the infirmary and using a rug put some alcohol in himself as the mares come too.
"Hmm, what happens?" Uru is the first to wake up followed by her friend as they hold their heads
"Oh good you two are awake" Mark sighed in relief and approach the two
"Sir?" } "Don't worry, no one knows what happens at the passage" He whispered, I found a stallion guard when I drag you both out and he helps me bring you two here"
"The passage!" Their eyes wide "What just happened back there? Sir, We are so sorry I would never do something like this unless my heat is too strong and..." Uru stop "My heat, is gone. Sir did we...?"
"Not exactly" He mentions taking a step back "When you were about to do that, I accidentally hit Alba in the back of the head when I trust my hip, we lost balance, and stumbling in the dark you hit something too Uru. Don't worry the doctor said everything is fine just small laps from the shock. The scare must clear your heads a bit. I'm so sorry by the way Alba"
"Don't, we kind of deserve it" She dismisses his concern "I suppose you would like other guards now, right?"
"Why? We just got to know each other" He blinked in confusion.
"Sir we assault it you"
"Eh I blame the heat mostly, you literally were blinded by your urges, and I kind of caused the mess in the first place by forgetting that I still have the musk of mares in me. If I understand correctly I was virtually inviting you to make a move"
"So, you still want us to protect you?"
"Sure, just... let's skip the secret doors for a while ok?"
They look another before nodding "Ok and don't worry we will be more alert on our heat from now on"
"Thanks because even though I'm part of the release corps and I more or less agree to help the female guards, I'm not sure if I'm ready to climb mount Uru or fly Alba airlines" He jokes to lighten the mood which seems to do the trick as they all share a laugh.
Once he took a quick dip into tomato juice, and after a quick shower, Mark resumed his tour around the castle with the two guards. Luckily neither of them seems to have any recollection of his glowing and keeping their words, remain professional and friendly until the end when they parted ways after the guards escort him back to his room.
Stretching and sighing in exhaustion he was about to change clothes and see what else he could do to finish his day when his phone came to life with an unknown number on it. Remembering what the Sore Eye told him, he pressed a button on top of the scroll to start tracking and sending a signal to the royal guards before answering a distorted voice on the other side.
"Enjoying your new life in the palace?"
With an exhausted sigh, he looked up. "I was wondering when you were gonna call me, since you took my friend I have been meaning to have a long chat with you. Whoever you are, I promise if you harm her..."
"Careful Mayor, you are in no position to make any treats and if you want to keep your precious pet alive, I advise you to stay on my good side."
Sighing in exhaustion he looked at the window, "Let me talk to her, I will not listen to a single thing until I know she is okay."
For a couple of seconds, there was only silence coming from the other side until he heard a door open.
"Sir?" The voice of Drusilla came from the other side
"Ms. Drusilla? Are you okay? Have they hurt you?"
"I'm okay for now, they have me tied up on a wooden chair. Sir, I'm afraid! Just do what they tell you."
"That is enough of that." The distorted voice appeared again. "There you go Mayor, safe and sound, and it will continue to be as long as you do exactly what we tell you."
"I gathered as much, what is it gonna be? Money? A pardon? To pitch an idea for a new law?"
"Do not think we are interested in such simple things. We are not interested in money or favors, in fact, pretty soon money would no longer be an issue for you."
"Yeah, the royal guards told me about Silver's sudden change in his will, why did you make him give me all of his money?"
The voice laughed briefly before continuing, "Consider it a preview, during your election campaign you kept insisting that you speak for the common folks. We will see how many fans you keep after everypony sees your hypocrisy."
"So this is it? The kidnapping? The murder? My house? The drugs? All of this just to harm my public image and make me look like a hypocrite in front of the masses?"
"Make you look or merely expose the real you? I always knew you didn't have what it takes to be a mayor. When things start to get hard, you will crack under pressure and just do and say anything to save your behind."
"...What do you want?" Mark answers with neutrality, refusing to fall into his taunts.
"We are done with the taunting then? Fine by me, this is my first demand so listen well, your primate. Right now, all of Canterlot is pondering if you are gonna try to mount the entire female guard of the castle during heat week, if you care for the safety of your secretary a day before that, you are gonna a release another press conference, and tell every pony that the rumor is true, and you have decided to make your living arrangement permanent."
"You want me to lie?"
He laughs momentarily, "No, and think of this a favor, you already broke plenty of promises, this is your chance to do some damage control, frankly, I’m doing you a favor, deep inside I know you always wanted things to end up like this."
"You know nothing about me."
"We'll see, I will leave the number of mares you will help up to you, but as far as Canterlot knows. The mayor would be a member of the relief corps from inside the castle walls. In fact, I want solid proof, something worth putting on the front page of the news. Right after your announcement you better kiss a guard next to you or something of the likes, there better be a show for the press."
He sighs in frustration, "I would never be able to live this down if I do that."
"So you don't care for your little friend's safety?"
"No, I...I will do it, but I don't get it, what exactly do you want from me? Do you want to hurt my image but also force me to live in luxury? What exactly is your goal here?"
A sinister laugh is his only response before the pony continues, "If you manage to survive the ordeal, I may tell you, but for now I suggest you get comfy on your bed, from this point on, you are living in OUR world and we call the shots here. You should have stepped down from office when we gave you the chance."
Before he could reply the call ended. Making him pause and then close his eyes and exclaim a tired sigh. Moments later two royal guards knock before entering the room.
"Did you manage to catch it all?"
"We did, and our experts are triangulating their position as we speak, unfortunately, they took precautions. The call was encrypted so it will take time."
"You know, part of me knew something like this would happen." He sighs and sits on a nearby chair, "I suppose this means I will have to continue playing along?"
The officer nods, "For his demand, he is gonna expect a front page with you affirming their claims, but due to how late he wants you to make the announcement, there is a chance he or a member of their group might appear to have visual confirmation, it’s not a 100% guarantee, but that is a chance we should take."
"Meaning it’s best if I give in to their demands and make the speech. Would there be any chance we could use an illusion so I don't actually have to act like a pervert with a guard?"
"Sorry sir, illusions don't work on cameras, but we can coordinate the act, so it only LOOKS like you are getting your way with her."
"Not sure if that would make much of a difference with heat week literally one day away." He sighs in defeat, "But it’s better than nothing I suppose."
He brings his hand to his face, "I can't wait for this mess to be over, I'm starting to feel that I have been going on that stupid podium almost on a daily basis. Ponies will start to think I got a giant ego, and love to hear my own voice."
"Just bare it with us a little longer sir, we promise pretty soon we will rescue Ms. Dracul, for now, the important thing is to keep her safe."
He nods and after discussing the details of the plan the two officers leave to give him time to breathe and collect himself.
Taking a glass of water he tries to calm his nerves when the glow in his arms appears once more.
Just great, I'm so nervous it’s starting to show again. His eyes wide in fear.
And if it happens during my speech, half of Canterlot would be at risk! I need to... my gloves and long shirt!
He rushes to his vaults and starts looking around. I know Luna packs them, where are they, where are they!"
He stops when he collects some bandage rolls and an idea comes to mind.
Could be a plan B.
As he ponders if he should or shouldn't use them to earn some pity and with any luck make the mare guards not go too hard on him, something catches his attention, and makes him raise an eyebrow.
A feather? He picked it up and inspected it carefully, Why would a feather be stuck to my sheee...
His train of thought stops mid-sentence as everything pieces together and he is left cold having resolved the mystery right away. ...eeeet! HER?! But I...But her...HER!!...I...how?!
A knock on his door snaps him back to attention followed by its opening, causing him to put the feather back and stand up with a startle. "Mark?"
Walking into the room, Princess Celestia looks at him in concern as she notices how much of his clothes were scattered all over the place. "Is everything okay?"
"Ahm!" He looked around and took a glance at his arms sighing in relief in his mind when the glow faded. "Everything is fine Celly."
"Is that a bandage roll?" She points at his other hand and he realized he was still holding on to it.
"Ah y-yeah, it is."
She gets closer now, more concerned than ever, "Did something happen? Are you injured?"
"Why would I be...? No!" He understood and dropped the bandages, "Just thinking of ideas." He sighs in melancholy, "The kidnappers talked with me, with a very weird demand, aimed to harm my image even further." He looked at the open vault where he dropped the first-aid "Though it might help if I look like I got injured arms or something, it is a weird idea I know."
"Would you like to talk about it with me, Luna and Twilight?" Celestia offers pointing at the door, "Luna prepared something new that she wanted us to try out. Don't bother asking me, she insisted on it to be a surprise."
The feather suddenly comes to his mind as he gulps, "I'm not sure if that would be a good..."
"Please." She stopped him by grabbing his hand, "If not as a distraction, at the very least we could help you brainstorm ideas."
He wanted to refuse, but getting lost in her magenta eyes pleading for his company made it impossible to refuse.
Damn it Celestia, that is not fair!
"Okay, y-yeah maybe it would be better if I talk with someone." He nods and lets her guide him outside the room, his mind filled with all sorts of conflicted emotions.
Once they arrived at the dining room Twilight was already waiting for them using the same clothes she wore when he met her for the first time. A simple long black and white square skirt, a brown formal vest on top of a formal bottom shirt, and a friendship leather bracelet. Of course, tailor-made and bigger to fit her with her new weight but because of what was going on in his mind the human couldn't help but feel her clothes might be a size too small for her, and as much as he tried to act casual and calmed, Mark couldn't help but feel tense the moment she came forward for a hug that he swears, linger a bit too much. A notion that she quickly notices, but he manages to dismiss her concern by blaming it on the kidnapping, which was true, just not the only reason.
Engaging in some small chat things manage to calm down somewhat while the 3 waited for Luna.
Sharing a laugh Mark takes another sip of water as Twilight finishes recalling a dirty story of hers to lighten the mood.
"And to this day I still get one or two stallions showing me their wings in case I got 'curious' again." Twilight finishes making air quotes.
"Oh boy I can't believe I missed that, you really didn't know that to keep staring at pony's wings was a type of flirting?" Mark asks in disbelief as he chuckles, "Well compared to me, you got off easy, I got a slap in the face before I found out."
"So sorry to hear that." Celestia mentions in pity, "Some ponies are simply quicker to anger than others. I only pray that was the only incident."
"Oh, believe me, I got more careful from that point on."
"Oh do tell." Celestia leaned forward more than a little intrigued. "Was there a time you needed to exercise caution?"
"Well, there was this one time, but nah, you don't want to hear it."
"Oh come on Mark! I just finished telling you a dirty story, now, it your turn."
"Didn't know there was a 'turn' system in place." He mentions with a raised eyebrow.
"Would it help if I share one of my own next?" Celestia offers, leaving both him and Twilight stiff as they slowly turn to her.
"You Prin...I mean Celestia?" Twilight asked in disbelief as she only shrugged.
"I'm not made of stone Twily, I have my adventures, but I would only tell if he goes first."
"Oh, now you HAVE to tell us Mark, please, please, please!"
"Fine, but really it is not much of a story and more of a miss understanding. You see, back then when I was visiting Seaquestria, I took a tour of the underwater city, while turned into a sea monkey, yes I know, the irony doesn't escape me either." He rolls his eyes as Twilight and Celestia had to contain their giggling.
"...And as per usual when visiting new places I start to talk with the locals and even manage to meet Princess Skystar, who even invites me for dinner at her home."
"Oh, this is getting interesting." Celestia gets closer and even Twilight leans forward curious about where it was heading.
"Great host, she and her mother, very nice people and good food, was a bit startled when Skystar invited me to spend the night, but when she told me that Twilight here sent her a letter about me, everything made a lot of sense."
"Oh yeah! I remember I wanted you to meet her at some point or another."
"Oh, I almost did." He confessed with some blush, "More than I have expected to be honest."
"What happened?" Celestia asked.
"Well everything was going smoothly and I was preparing to go to bed when the princess asked me if before bed I would like to see the royal clams." With a big blush, he covers his head, and leaning against the desk he covers his face with his arms.
"I don't get it. What is so dirty about that?" Twilight asks with a raised eyebrow as she and Celestia take a sip of their drink.
"Depending on the context where I come from, the term "clam" is slang for vagina." Mark clarified, still refusing to make eye contact with them and subsequently hearing both spits their drink on the spot.
"What?!" They both yell at the same time as he nods and stands up seeing how they were now red too. "And you though that she meant...why?!"
"It was an honest mistake ok?! Later I discovered she meant an ACTUAL clam collection she and her mother made but right there because it was late, they invited me to dinner and were very cordial with me. Well, things could have easily been miss interpreted, not helping with HOW they describe it."
He sighs before starting to quote them, "Yeah, me and my mom´s clams, hers is definitely bigger, but between us, mine is prettier, since I accessorize it." The mares start to snicker, "I remember you used to take such poor care of yours back when you were a filly, I always end up having to clean it up, sometimes even twice a day." They were physically struggling not to laugh, "Hey yours used to be full of spiderwebs until I came." They were about to burst as they were turning red. "Plus I wash it daily now, mom!" That finally broke them as they start to laugh uncontrollably. "But you keep forgetting to do it properly dear, how many times do I have to tell you that you need to reeally stick your fin inside if you want to keep your clam nice and sparkly."
"STOP!" Twilight managed to yell as she had tears in her eyes and had difficulty speaking between the laughing. "Please...I'm gonna pee!"
"Oh by all heavens! Tell me...you...you manage to clear the air." Celestia begs while cleaning a tear from her left eye."
"Not exactly, their argument kept escalating until Skystar said 'I clean it up real nice this time, see?" And then I looked away thinking she was about to flash his mother until Nova asked me what I was doing, and when I took a tentative look at them, saw both royals looking at me confused as Skystar was holding a clam with google eyes and a mustache."
"Oh my goodness, that is quite the tale." Celestia drinks some more to recover her breathing.
"So did you explain the confusion to them?"
"Oh heck no! I wasn't ready to offend my host or earn another slap, so I told them I saw a shark and agree to look at their collection, kind of sweet, how mother and daughter share the same hobby and all that." He drink some more and smiled, "Took me a while to look them in the eyes after that though I can tell you that."
"I bet, I mean, do you imagine what it would feel if a princess suddenly flashes you out of the blue, like some bizarre type of flirting?"
"Je yeah...imagine," He says, focusing on his drink.
"So Celestia I think it’s your turn now to tell a story." Twilight turns her attention to her and Mark got a glance at said princess as she nods.
"Indeed, now let’s see, what could be a nice little story."
Before she could come up with something Luna arrived wearing a chef outfit and pushing a cart with four concealed plates on it. "Good evening everypony!" She greeted them all with a big grin.
"Evening Luna."
"Hi, Luna." Both Twilight and Mark great her in their own way.
"Well, somepony seems to be in a particularly cheerful mood." Celestia smiled and raised an eyebrow as Luna served the plates.
"What can I say, sister? I got inspired." Luna looks at Mark in pity, "I know how things are hard right now, but things will get better, and maybe something good could happen out of all of this." She takes a seat, "I mean having you around the castle has given me an excuse to explore my horizons beyond a typical equestrian diet." She looked around, "Go ahead, open them up. I want to see what you think."
Curious they all did just that and after the air cleared from the steam they all see their unique dishes, "For you sister, I know how much you like your salads, and simply adore a fruit mix so I combined the two and made you a recipe of my own." Celestia had a plate with lettuce balls, with accompanied by soy sauce on the side. "Combining the two I made these specially made lettuce balls with rice and soy sauce."
"A creative idea sister, can't wait to give it a try."
Pleased by that, Luna turns to Twilight, "Twilight, I know how despite being a princess you still enjoy the simple things in life so I decided to take a simple concept and experiment with the possibilities." For her, she had a plate with 3 big hamburgers. "I call it 3 flavor patties, each one has a unique combination of not only the condiments but all the way to the type of bread."
"Oh, but one of them got burned." Twilight mentions looking at the darker patty.
"Oh no, that is how it is supposed to be, that’s chocolate-flavored bread." That caught her attention and took a tentative bite. "Wow, this tastes incredible! Thank you, Luna!"
Grinning in pride she turned to the last dish, "And for our new resident. I know you are set on moving out once you find a new home, but in case you decided to stay dishes like this could be on the menu indefinitely, plates that answer to your unique paladar." He admired 3 different empanadas with a cut in the middle of them and to his cringe all having the colors of the mares on the table, "Getting inspiration from Twilight buns I decided to try other types of bread and combinations for this empanadas, the purple is filled with beef and bittersweet sauce. The white one is a traditional pizza flavor one with all the topics and extra cheese to make it creamier, that is why it's the biggest of the 3, and my favorite, the blue one that is for dessert, filled with blueberry cream, ice-cream, and some grapes."
She leaned forward, "What do you think?"
Starting to sweat, Mark tries his best not to think that the slang empanadas have been reinforced not only by their color of them but also by the specific cut in the middle Luna made of them. Gulping he nods and smiles at Luna, "They look delicious."
Seeing some of their content spilling he got intrigued and using his finger, he scooped some of its content to taste. "And it tastes delicious too." He takes more samples enjoying the flavor until Celestia loudly clears her throat.
"Mark dear, the utensils aren't there just for show." She calmly reprimanded his table manners, with a small heat on her cheeks for some reason.
"Oh sorry, sorry!" He starts eating normally and tries to ignore the mental image in his head of the princesses naked and spread eagle in front of him asking if he wants a taste with bedroom eyes. "A bit spicy!" He cleans his forehead with a napkin close by, "But definitely delicious."
Right after escaping the mob of reporters Mark closes the front door of the castle and leans against it breathing deeply as his mouth still has a bit of lipstick smear on it until he uses the sleeve on his polo to clean it up.
In front of him were the still blushing Uru & Alba as well as Inkwell who had the misfortune to be in the wrong spot when Mark went to sell his claims of living in the castle and turn left instead of right. Luckily the effect was pretty much the same and all the reporters present went nuts at his display of depravity.
"Well it's official, all of Canterlot would think I'm a pervert now." He stood up and went to see the poor stunned mare with a thousand yard look on her face. "Ms. Inkwell, there are no words...I'm extremely sorry, I got my directions mixed up, I swear I was meant to kiss Uru instead of..."
She stops him by placing a finger on his lips, "Ap, not another word sir." She seemed to recover, but his brief relief turned to fear when she started to smile and look at him with lustful eyes, "Other than answering me this, what happens next?" She giggles like a drunk as her hand ventures down and grabs his own before interlocking their fingers.
"Uhhhh, Ms. Inkwell?" Mark looks at her confused as he takes his hand away from hers.
"Hey no fair, I was suppose to get the kiss." Alba complained getting beside him, "But I'm willing to forgive you, if you give me one long, sloppy and prench apology kiss." He gulps when he sees the same eyes on the pegasus as she blocked his escape.
"If we are going off script here…" Uru joins from the other side, "May I join?"
Mark laughs nervously as they seem to get a more predatory look in eyes, "Ladies, ladies, remember that was just an act."
"Oh then let’s improvise, or better yet, let’s act something else, we are three thirsty amazons and you are the intrepid explorer wanting to venture into our bushes." Inkwell responds while licking her lips as Mark starts to back away, looking around for an escape until his eyes land on a window looking at the garden.
"Holy crap, is that Shining Armor doing squats without pants?!"
"WHERE?!" The mare's attention turns to the window immediately giving the human the opening to make his escape before they turn around.
Rushing to the third floor he hides behind a pillar entering a balcony as the 3 mares run past him giving him a chance to breathe once more.
"Their heat just arrived, didn't they?" Startled, he looked up to see Celestia leaning against the railing with a sympathetic look. Sighing in relief he nods and approach her.
"If not, I might had just awoken it." He confess as he stands besides her while she sighs and look forward.
"Don't blame yourself, there was no way of knowing that Ms. Inkwell heat arrived earlier, or that it will resulted in a chain reaction."
He laughed nervously briefly "So you saw it?"
"I did." She smiles and nods briefly "And even though accidental, I thought the whole ordeal was a bit comical, specially with both of your surprise reactions." She let go a small chuckle as Mark sighs and stares forward.
"I hope Ms. Inkwell thinks the same once she comes back to her senses."
"I'm sure she will, it’s not in her nature to hold grudges, and she knew full well that everything was mere theatrics." She turns to him with a smirk, "Unless of course you decided to took more liberties."
"No no no! Just a kiss in an out, I held her head to sell the idea, but that was all!" He quickly defended himself.
"Then you have nothing to be afraid of, and only need to apologize once she returns to her senses." Celestia reassures him trying to calm him down before they hear a loud alarm blaring all over the castle as thick yellow lines appear around the structure.
Understanding the meaning Mark looked down to see how the entirety of the male guard was vacating the castle, among the ponies he could see Gladius looking back and spotting each other.
He smiles and gives him a thumbs up which Mark copies, getting the message the griffin turns around and leaves with the rest of the guards to their assigned bunkers/command center/barracks.
"I never thought that one day, I would be standing on the other side of the wall." Mark mentioned in sorrow as he watched the unicorns on both sides prepare their spells and soon erect a massive marble wall that divided the castle with the outside world before shooting a beam of light from its roof that covered the structure in a dense golden bubble. "Always thought the shield was imposing and almost intimidating from the outside, but now that I'm here, it downright terrifying."
"And yet its a kindness, compare to what might happen if not put in place." Celestia closed her eyes and looked down as the alarm kept blaring, "I always hated that infernal alarm." She confesses with a tired sigh, "Hearing such an ominous and loud warning puts me on edge as I remember less peaceful times in the land. But I suppose it will take away its meaning if I were to replace it with something else."
Taking a glance at her, Mark could see a tear escaping her eyes. Feeling sorry for her he looks at her hand still holding the railing and after stealing his nerves a little decides to be bold and place his hand on top of her palm.
The action didn't escape the princess who was startled and looked at her hand holding her tight before looking at the mayor who kept looking forward trying his best to act neutral yet the heat on his cheek was a dead give away.
"Don't worry Celly," He turns to her and offer a calm smile, "you can count on me to drive all those memories away."
Smiling in content she relaxes and even giggles a bit at how adorable he looked at the moment. "My hero." She tightened the hold in their hands.
Neither of them say a word and simply stare at each other's eyes until he feels and then sees the hand of Celestia starting to shake, which he knew what it meant.
Breaking the hold Celestia suddenly takes out a silver bracelet from her dress. It had some equestria symbols on it, including the elements of harmony from before Twilight and her sun and moon, "I was on my way to your room to give you these but decided to take a moment to see the sky before the shield was placed, so your arrival kind of saved me a trip." She extended the item to him, "A enchanted relic that would let you blend with your surroundings as long as you remain still. Though it might come in handy for the week."
"What? No Celly, I can't, this is probably one of the crows' treasures… I can't possibly..."
"Please just take it!" She virtually begged with tears starting to form at the edge of her eyes and forcing the bracelet into his arms, her body starting to shake uncontrollably, "Mark, I don't want you to see me turn into a deviant. This infernal heat, what it does to me. To Luna. Each year we lock ourselves in our rooms fearing what might happen if we venture outside. Neither of us want to hurt you, but with our minds so clouded, I don't know what we could be capable of doing if we see you. So please, PLEASE! After tonight, try to stay in your room as much as possible, to Tartarus with the release corps! It is not worth it if you end in emergencies or worse. And if you still want to fulfil your duties then...at the very least. Stay away from our rooms. Please…"
Mark was left speechless by her actions and once more was unable to refuse once she stared at him with those violet kind eyes.
"Okay." He nods and grabs the hand and put the bracelet on, "I can't promise you to stay away. Even if forced I made a promise, and lifted the hopes of all the mares here in the castle. I can't take that away now. But I can promise two things. One, I will exploit this fully." He lifts the bracelet, "And two I will put into practice everything I know from the release corps." He smiles confidently at her, "Don't underestimate us Celestia. We might not be the royal guard, but we too have our tricks."
He pushes her away lightly and they smile as she nods, "I suppose it will have to do, but if things start to get too dangerous or you get injured don't you dare play the hero. You take medical attention immediately and stay in your room, am I clear?" She gives him a stern look letting him know that she is not taking no for an answer.
Weird, normally I should be scared of that glare, why did it suddenly get adorable? "Crystal." He reply with neutrality trying not to smile as to anger her more, and bring their hands together.
The princess was slowly starting to calm down, "Thank you."
"Oh and speaking of my training and just in case this is the last time I can see you while still rational." Suddenly Mark shocks her with a kiss on the lips that left her cold, as it lasted. It wasn't lustful, forced or primal. It was by all intents and purposes just a simple kiss, yet the action was putting her mind into overdrive, with half of her wanting the kiss to never end while the other was screaming at her to just pin him against a wall and have her way with him.
Time seems to have stop for as long as the kiss lasted until Mark pulled away to allow her to think again as she remained perfectly still.
"Why?" She managed to whisper, shaking like a leaf as he looked at her with a stern face.
"Because you were in withdraw Celestia, don't try to deny. Don't even think you can fool a member of the release corps. We know the signs, and yours couldn't be more obvious." He reprimand her while she remained stoic. Smiling he nods once, "Trust me, with your mind in that state you needed my help and I knew exactly how. We call it micro releases, small intimated stimulates to relief your body and keep you in control, in some cases, it even makes the pain more tolerable. A periodic dose and you are good as rain, pretty cool right? And just in the nick of time too. I heard stories of mares holding those urges for too long, ending up going through hell each time they wanted to pee." He shivers at the memory of said stories.
"So, don't think too much about it and just consider this your dose of vitamin M." He patted her shoulders and prepared to leave.
"To be continued." He tells out of the blue before marching away.
Leaving, Celestia starts to ride off the shock and realized that was holding something between her hands, opening them up, the content make her raised an eyebrow before her eyes wide a moment and she turns around only to see that she was alone once more, looking at the object again she puts it on her pocket and exit the balcony
"W-wait! Mark, h-how often do you give the doses? I'm a big mare, might need a second! No, I KNOW I need more. Mark? MARK! Come back here!" She chases after him through the hallway ignoring how said human stepped out from behind the pillar. The bracelet is doing its job just fine.
That will do the trick for now. I'm sorry Celly, we need to talk but, it will not be like this. Not while we have so many things in our minds at the moment.
He sighs in sorrow as he marches in the opposite direction, eyeing the artifact Celestia gave him and starts to think. This is gonna be one long week...But that doesn't mean I can't try to keep them from losing their minds completely and away from the gutter even if briefly. Time for my training to be put into action. He smiles in determination deciding, to not let his predicament bring him down, as he goes to his room and changes clothes.
That night, things at the dining room were beyond tense. As both princesses were eating silently while edging the empty seat in between the two.
"So you are hell bent on not telling me, why exactly Mark is avoiding us?"
"It...complicated," Celestia responded, putting a hand over her face and looking away. The memory of the kiss, still fresh in her memory and more surprisingly how Mark was right, her urges were still present but thanks to his actions the impulse wasn't screaming at her ear and the pain in between her legs had lessened considerably, like they just threw big buckets of water on a burning house. The fire was still there but was smaller and it wasn't spreading.
"And if I'm sincere I don't exactly blame him for avoiding us. I told him to do so during this week"
"Tia!" She slammed the table in anger.
"It is for the best and you know it Luna! You know how crazy a normal mare could get during heat week. I dread to imagine what we could be capable of, with all of our might out of control.
Before we were safe by surrounding ourselves with nothing but female guards, but this is our first time a stallion would be at arms reach of us. Only the old gods know what that could make us do."
Luna can't rebuttal and just sighs while playing with her food in shame, "It still doesn't make it less hurtful. It makes us look like at any second we could turn into mindless monsters that can only think of copulation."
"I know Luna, I hate it too, but for the sake of our friend this is the only way. I rather he fear us for a week over fear us for life."
"I would never fear you guys."
Both princesses were startled when they heard his voice and turn around only to find Inkwell with messy clothes and a satisfied face, holding a scroll up in the air as Mark was in video call. "Okay, that came out wrong and easy to miss interpretation. What I mean to say is I would never consider you monsters. Yeah that is better."
"MARK!" The alabaster alicorn rushes to the phone and grabs it as she summons a chair for Inkwell to rest before looking at the human next to Luna. Said human startled by the sudden outburst. "Where in Equestria are you?! After you left I couldn't find you anywhere!” Celestia asks immediately, before noticing how he was dressed in full on black and blue with dark blue bandages, a face mask and bandana, completing the disguise. "And why are you disguised as some sort of ninja?"
"Listen to me young Mark, forget anything my dumb sister told you earleir" Luna continued, earning a glare from Celestia, "While we undergo the same changes any mare experience during heat, we aren't mindless beast jumping anything that moves. We can still talk, please. I like making dishes for everyone, come back."
"I'm sorry girls. Nothing would make me happier than being there with you, honest." He lifted his open palm into the air, "But exaggeration or not, Celestia was right, Canterlot castle is the most dangerous place to be during heat week, not only for you. But the guards as well. That is why I must stay hidden for a bit. But that doesn't mean we can't still talk, and even make a game out of this situation." He pulled the mask down so they could see him smiling.
The sisters look at each other confused before turning to him. "A game?" Celestia raises an eyebrow as he nods.
"Are you familiar with treasure hunts and escape rooms games?"
"Sure, me and Tia used to go play there from time to time. It is a great team building exercise." Luna responded.
"Well this is similar, except this is more like a type of approach to what we in the corps refer as a "Roasting Hive", basically a building full with violent heat induced mares. Which is what the castle is right now. You don't even need to do anything, Ms. Inkwell and my escort guards were kind enough to help me set everything up." He move the camera and the princess are surprise to see both Uru and Alba soaking in sweat with content smiles on their faces as they lay in bed naked with the lower part of their bodies cover by a blanket.
"And as you can see, I also made sure to take responsibility by my actions earlier" Mark smile and turn the camera back at him.
The siblings finally notice Inkwell in a similar state than the guards as she needs to sit down and pant heavily. Making them realize what exactly happened to her. "So what do you say? Interested?" He asks them with a smirk, as Celestia was still unsure and looked away while Luna seemed more intrigued.
"How do we play?" Looking at her sibling in shock Celestia can’t believe what she is saying.
"That is the spirit! Ok, first things first. Ms. Inkwell if you please." Nodding the unicorn pulls out from her shirt 2 pieces of paper with an unknown number. "To start the game you will have to put that number in your scroll title, "The Peek and Poke game." At its core this will be a simple hide and seek game, with some changes here and there. One that I already inform the rest of the staff in case they want to play and give a number to put in their phones so I can give them instructions. I put a series of traps all over the castle and somewhere in here I'm hiding. Each day I will post clues telling where I'm for the next 24 hours. The goal is pretty straight forward: Solve the puzzle to reach the place, manage to avoid my traps and catch me. If you win, I surrender and try to please your urges for one whole day, regardless of it alone or an orgy. Winners makes the demands."
That fills them with dread, "Mark no! If the guards catch you!"
He stops them by raising a hand, "I'm aware of the risk, trust me. It will not make it easier for them, and even if caught. I'm prepared, both how to deal with that." He showed them the bracelet, "And how to make my escape. And that is IF they catch me."
He smirks in confidence at them, "That is how you win anyway, but for me. Well I will also be on the hunt of you and if I succeed, then it is straight to horny jail for my victims."
"Horny jail?" They both ask confused.
"Oh, you’ll see, just so you get an idea. I didn't touch Inkwell or the guards...well kind of, but...the point is. I didn't exactly used my hips to leave them like that."
They look at Inkwell again as she nods weakly, "That’s right, I think you are starting to get it, the "winners demand", system works both ways, I lose, you call the shoots, YOU lose and you are mine."
Their fur crisp a little and their wings ruffled, "High risk high reward basically. And you don't need to play, if you choose you can just stay in your room, and we can just talk throw our scrolls." He sighs in pity. "I just hope that is not the case."
He looked at both in sorrow, "I am growing fondly of your cooking Luna, you’re a natural. It almost makes me not care if you decided to. Oh, I don't know, used me as a plate or maybe the other way around." Her eyes widen and she blushed profusely.
"And Celestia, oh sweet dear Celly. It broke my heart seeing you struggle with so much pain this morning. God this is so wrong on so many levels, but for some reason, I just can't help but feel attracted to the flame." It was Celestia turn to blush.
"But before you mark me as a pervert, lets be honest here people, you two are virtual supermodels and I'm not made of stone, plus this is purely to help with the pain and you can just say no and simply stay in your rooms." He moves toward a window, "With that out of the way, there is only one more thing to say, but before that. I need to tell you, Luna."
He lifts a bowl of soup and finishes the little content that was left behind, "Your mushroom soup was delicious!" The call ended right there.
Realizing he was in the kitchen both princesses teleport there as he leans against the open window as he salutes bringing his index and middle finger to his forehead before jumping.
"NO!" In horror the sisters run after and take flight to grab him only to find a dummy scarecrow dressed as him, with a motor arm to make the salute motion, plus a note on its torso saying; 'Wanna Play?'
Startled, they look at the kitchen where a table lies, the now empty bowl and the front doors opening and closing briefly.
"How did he do it?" Luna asks, perplexed.
"By the stars, he really HAS tricks."
Later that evening Mark entered a random guest room where Alba and Uru were still resting as he picked a bag of dildos, lubes and other sex toys.
"Nice job you two, I knew the guards had their relief toys somewhere." He chatted with the still sleeping mares. Looking at a device on his wrist he pushes some buttons on it and soon the mares sigh in relief as a small buzz coming from underneath the sheets stops. Walking to the bed he is careful not to wake them and remove a wet pink ball from their nethers.
"Don't get greedy either ladies, this is for the game." He chuckled and proceeded to remove Uru's but the zebra by impulse tried to grab him. Thinking it over, Mark smirks and lets go of the bag and starts playing with her nipples as he gives her a slow kiss which she moans and leans forward in approval. With a pop, he goes down in a trail of kisses until he starts sucking on her right tit while playing with her left with one hand and the other ventures into her crotch.
Moaning in her sleep, Mark increases the pressure and goes faster until her back arches and with a loud moan, she cums, giving him a nice drink and the vibrator that just popped out of her body.
Alba doesn't seem to notice and the two continue to sleep.
"Sleep well my strong angels." He whispers and kisses their foreheads before cleaning the toys, his hands and his mouth before leaving with his erotic loot, putting the mask back on.
Making their way to the attic a group of five mares, 2 unicorn maids, and 3 pegasus royal guards made their way to the attic in the castle as they look around the dusty place.
"Are you absolutely sure he is here?" A pegasus asks opening another big cardboard box full of spotlights, while a maid moves multiple boxes around using her magic with more delicacy to make as little a mess as possible. Stopping she turns to look at her companions.
"''Above all of you, on a Thin layer wall, here I come to Think, without a care In the world of either dust or the Cold.' He purposely put those letters in capital, to spell ATTIC, so yeah I'm pretty sure he is here." She explains showing the riddle that Mark sends first thing in the morning.
"Enough chit-chat!" Another pegasus flies in the middle of them carrying another box. "Focus mares! There is a stallion here, and it is just a matter of time before the rest of the castle comes for their share, if we want first dips on that dick we need to hurry!"
"Hey, I think I found something!" The other maid call and approaching them the group sees two silhouettes figures depicting a mare giving a stallion a blowjob. "Think it a clue?"
"It's more than that" One of the guards picks the figures "I get it now, this game is like a bizarre reverse escape room where you want to get in, you just found one of the pieces to solve it. The room has a theme around shadow figures" She looks around the place until she finds an oil lamp on top of a silver plate.
"How did you know?" A maid asks as the guard lights the lamp and clips the figures to two metal sticks in the middle of the room that project their forms on a frame in one of the walls.
"I have played these games before, and instantly saw the theme here" She look around "The boxes were filled with lightbulbs, plus there are sign language books, and sock puppets all over the floor. Those are clues. The mayor fixed this place to follow the theme of shadow puppets" She whistled and nodded at his handy work
"Kind of impressive if you ask me. He managed to arrange this place in less than a day, to make us work for our price" She started to drool a little and her eyes turns lustful "Makes me want to fuck him even harder now"
"Great, we can all give him a blowjob reward for his trouble later. Right now my crouch is on FIRE! How do we solve this?" She points at the shadow in exasperation as a maid approached the figures.
"Seems kind of straight forward don't you think? This figure seems to do an action so we only need to move them, right?"
"Wait! There is a lot of space on that frame. There is a chance there is more to the puzzle than...!" The guard try to warn her but it was too late as the mare recreate the blowjob and soon everyone hears a click all around them.
"See? Puzzle solved" The maid smiled until a wood eye opened from the top of the frame and with a red light scan the group before closing again, suddenly spotlights turn on from behind them, freezing them in place.
"It's gorgon light! Look out!" One of the pegasus guards manages to dodge it "Don't worry I got it" She flies around and grabs a sheet to cover the spotlight when some bolas launch at her tying her up to the ground where another spotlight froze her in place.
"In an escape room, there are such things as punishment for incomplete answers or following red haring!" The guard chastises the maid as they try to move, yet from the waist down they were completely immobilized, "Plus he warned us that there would be TRAPS!"
"Sorry"
"Aww! So close, you almost got me there, ladies" The voice of Mark is heard from one of the puppets holding a microphone "But it seems like I got the worm in the end, don't worry my early birds. I don't want it so you can have them. Now, kneel and spread" By command, the mares did as he said spreading their legs and getting on their knees before hearing the floor beneath them open, and right between their legs sprung a series of dildos paint as a green worm. "Neat don't you think? And they are fully equipped with a cooler and plenty of lube to help you clench that fire in between your legs"
"What?! Oh no, the rules say we became yours, I didn't come here to play with toys! You win, which mean we are yours now. So come here and mark us as your property already!" One of the maid's demands in frustration before moaning as the dildo starts to tease their wall while they grab it and prevent it from going deeper, all of them regretting having chosen today to wear skirts, and for the guard grabbed by the bolas, taking the worse/best part by deciding to go commando and having no way to hold the toy meaning, it didn't found any resistance whatsoever as her companions heard a wet slurpy sound follow by a series of moan from her.
"Oh tempting but that is not how it works, winners make the demands remember? And I say you all go to horny jail. Better luck tomorrow ladies, take this as a consolation prize. Don't worry they are set in low, oh and if you want more speed or want more 'worms' just ask!"
The transmission is cut leaving them trying to fight off the slippery dildos as they slowly make their way to their entrance, their energy and will slipping fast by the pleasure their clouded minds and the constant slurpy wet sounds and moans the mare guard keep making as she gave up and started to ride the dildo with abandon, even increasing speed and after asking acquiring a second one. One by one the rest give in and follow her example allowing the fake dicks to do their job, moving their underwear to not destroy it. Claiming the first residents of horny jail.
For the rest of the day, those that manage to figure out the location kept failing the rest of the clues or keep stepping into the same traps. Periodically Mark make sure to clean up their mess and re-lube the toys to keep everything sanitized until a small portion of the royal guards ended up incapacitated and in a daze resting in the dungeon as Mark kept sending them once they lost consciousness from their orgasm, using teleportation stones.
When sunset hit, the human was ready to call it a day and move to his next hideout when he receive two last surprise players, hiding in cloaks while entering the room until they notices one another.
"Tia?" One of the mares calls, startling the other as she jumps and turns back pulling her hood down to reveal the princess in question. "what are you doing here? Wait, is that perfume I smell?" She questions taking a swift at her
"Luna! It's not what it looks like, I was just worried about the safety of our friend and wait..." She approaches the mare and removes the hood revealing Luna inside "What are YOU doing here? And is that lipstick?" She ask back and notices how her sister had put on some blue lipstick making her blush and look away
"Don't go around jumping to conclusions Tia, can't a mare indulge herself in some makeup? And for your information, I too came to offer assistance" She raised an eyebrow "If anyone is suspicious here is you, are you sure that 'help' is all you came for? Or the choice of expensive perfumes are just to hide more primal urges?"
"I'm more than capable of keeping myself in control and don't act on my impulse like some pre-pubescent filly going throw her first heat. Unlike certain princess whose face literally is exposing her utter motives," She raised an eyebrow at her sister and crosses her arms as Luna copy her action and they kept staring at each other.
"It seems like neither of us can fully trust the other to be alone with the human" Luna concluded
"Agree, so perhaps for the sake of his safety, we should team up and keep an eye on each other to ensure that neither has a relapse. Deal?"
"Deal" Luna nod and they shake hands before starting to investigate the attic.
"You know it's kind of curious" Luna mentions staring at the two figurines still in the iron rods
"What is it, Luna?" Celestia questioned, as she look at her.
"Don't you find it weird? How come that from a handful of well-trained royal guards in various ranks, not a single mare was capable of solving these riddles?" She stares at the frame and then the lamp before looking at her sister "Do you think this whole thing is rigged?"
"Doubtful, if Mark really didn't want any mare, near him, all he had to do was stay in his room. Plus he is not the malicious or cruel type. Even if dangerous I really doubt he would make a game where it is impossible to win" She stops and smile when she notices something in one of the boxes. "Plus you can't forget a crucial detail Luna"
"Which is?"
Celestia tells her to come closer and show how on the edge of the box was a roman number 3. "All those mares weren't thinking straight. In any escape room. You always need to pay close attention as nothing is what it seems in the first place" She rub her hand against the edge of the box and find what she was looking for. A silhouette of a 3, and an iron rod to clip on it. Looking at the frame again and approaching it she notices the markings of a clock with 7 and 3 marked red.
"Got it! Luna, see if the other boxes have more numbers on them" Following the instruction. The two sisters manage to find and place the rest of the numbers creating a shadow clock in the frame. They hear a click from underneath the silver plate 3 safe dial combination rise from the floor around the plate. The first one with numbers from 1 to 12, the second goes in multiples of 5, and the last one, has the alphabet, with the M letter missing.
"Talk about clever! Now I understand. All the previous mares were too busy trying to find him that they never stop and look closely at the boxes. If they had only seen things more carefully, they noticed that the frame was actually a clock" Luna summarized "That is why none of them solved it"
"It was more than that" Celestia keep staring at the couple "Their minds were strictly thinking about just sex. This game was designed to force them to stop thinking about it. Those that didn't realize it, pay the price. I think I'm starting to see the point of all this" She smiled and touched the stallion figure.
"He wants to distract us from the pain and the urges, via mental games, to trim the herd, from the more aggressive ones. Those that lose get their wishes and find a way to calm down, while the ones that win are still thinking rationally. He truly thought of everything"
"It's too soon to celebrate sister" Luna points out "We still need to solve what I pray is the last riddle" Luna reminds her with some urgency in her tune. Celestia quickly pick on that and hum in thought "You need to solve it"
"What?"
"You heard me, this one is all yours Lulu" She cross her arms "I already proved that my mind isn't in the gutter and I still think rational" She poke the clock "But you are yet to prove the same. So go ahead Luna, solve this one, proof to me that you aren't thinking of jumping his bones"
"Tia you can't be serious! If I got it wrong we BOTH set the traps and lose Mark. Are you really willing to take those chances?"
Celestia smiles and nods "I trust in you completely Lulu, and if you get it wrong. That only means you aren't thinking straight. Come on is not that hard. Here I would even give you a clue" She points at the frame "7 and 3 are marked. That should be enough"
"But Tia..."
"It's necessary Lulu, that is the whole point of this game. Plus it would not be funny if I carried us all the way"
With an exasperated sigh, Luna looks down. She wanted to argue but deep inside knew Celestia was right. The burn in her legs was killing her and the faint smell of a stallion was indeed clouding her mind. She was slowly getting desperately but she truly meant it when she said he just wanted to help.
Come on Luna, you can do it, you are more than just a horny mare. You are the princess of the night for pony's sake! There is no way a puzzle is gonna a best you.
She kept staring at the dials and kept remembering the clue Celestia gave him.
Seven and tree, why would he mark those numbers specifically? Unless...
Looking up Luna squints her eyes until she notices something in the figures and angles her view a little to match the clock
They are representing the arms of a clock! Which means...
She starts moving the dials around If they are the arms, their position is telling the time and which arm they represent. So if I also think about how they are dressed...
Putting the dials to 7: 15 A Both princesses head another click and the lamp and metal rods retracted into the ground as the frame expands and shows them a secret door that opens to the rooftop.
"I knew you could do it Luna" Celestia nods in pride as Luna keeps her chin up
"Thank you sister, would you like to hear how I did it?"
"Sure, you earn the gloating points"
"I sure am, but can't take full credit since it was your clue that gave me the answer. The marked numbers were saying the time, and both figures were representing the arms of a clock, they even were chipped at the leg of the mares and back of the stallion clueing in which direction they were supposed to be placed. The mare was shorter because it was on her knees while the stallion was standing up, meaning he was the minutes and she the hours. That read 7:15. From that you only had to notice how the mare was wearing a night glow and the stallion jogging pants and no shirt, as well as both having messy manes. Showing they just woke up, meant AM, and the final dial was missing the M, meaning the letters were the time of day, with a miss direction adding the rest of the alphabet. The answer was 7: 15 AM "
She finishes their explanation as they both reach the top and Mark applauds at them
"Bravo girls, bra...vo! I knew you still had that brilliant mind of yours, so as the first winners, allow me to congratulate..." He doesn't have the chance to finish as both princesses rush to him into a strong but not hurtful hug.
"Do you have ANY idea of the scare you gave us, last night?! " Celestia reprimands him with a stern face. "NEVER do that again"
"Sorry Celly but couldn't risk it. I needed to have a dummy in place"
"Risk of what exactly? Of we forbidding you starting this game?" Luna questioned breaking the hug and looking at him with a stern face.
"Nope" Mark smile and poke her forehead "Risk that this would leave home and you started to think...naughty"
"We wouldn't..." Luna had to stop herself and with a blush look away "...It wouldn't have happened that fast"
Mark laughs and walks away "Agree to disagree, but let's not think too much about it. Come on girls time for you to enjoy your victory"
That catches both of their attention as their eyes wide and their cheeks heat up.
"M-Mark you aren't actually implying..." Celestia stops when she notices a blanket in the middle of the roof with a picnic basket a champagne bottle and a plate of strawberries with chocolate.
"Sorry I overpack a little. I set this up thinking more mares would come" He sits on one corner of the blanket and open the basket. "Won't you join me for a snack?"
Their confusion turned to slight embarrassment when their stomachs growl and looking at one another they simply shrug and went with the flow serving themselves a plate with sandwiches and letting Mark serve them a drink.
"Have to say young Mark, if I knew the reward for our efforts would be a picnic under at our rooftop, I would have brought some appetizers" Luna jokes as Mark fills her drink
"Ah don't sweat, besides knowing it would have ruined the surprise, right? Hope you had fun in the room and now understand better the idea of a release corps." He starts playing with his cup "Contrary to what the masses think, our name is more than just well..."
"You can just say it Mark" Luna interrupts him "Stallions that go around having sex with mares in heat to help with their pain"
"I was trying to be more tactful about it but. Yeah pretty much, but we are more than just that" He immediately answer slightly irritated "There are more than one way to calm a mare loins"
"I can see that now as well as impressed" Celestia takes a sip of her drink before looking at him with a raised eyebrow "I have never seen any pony capable of setting such elaborate and intriguing puzzles and traps in less than a day, tell us" She takes a small bite of her sandwich "How did you manage to construct all of this so fast?"
He simply shrug and shake his head with a chuckle "As much as I would like to take full credit most of the traps and puzzles were already there, I simply change or alter them to fit my needs better" He casually confesses to the two.
"What?" Both princesses look at him in shock.
"Going through heat is nothing, new ladies. Of course, my predecessors, have their own system installed, including some traps in the castle specifically for this situation although for more grim purposes. When the news of me staying here comes to light, Gallus suggests, I reactivate the old traps and help me make sure everything still worked and wasn't too rusty or potentially be a safety hazard" He finishes his sandwich and looks up in thought "If you want to praise the creator I think his name was See Saw, he is the stallion that makes all of this possible"
"Wait, you mean the Saw killer, See Saw? The stallion that went insane after his herd broke his legs and made a series of death games to kill any mare during heat week?" Celestia questions in alarm "I order the dismantle of all of his contractions years ago!"
"And we gave it a new use for them. The idea had latent potential Celly, so by only taking away the pointy edges, acid, and other lethal elements of them the traps, well you just saw the result, clean, efficient, and safe deterrents ready to use" Mark responded. "Got the papers and permission in order too, if you don't believe me"
"You mean to tell me, that for years the castle has been filled with the traps made by that psychopath repurposed to deal with mares during their heat without harming them? How come we weren't aware of this?" Luna crosses her arms.
"Partly, because until now stallion has been in the castle during the heat so there was no need to use them plus very few knew about it, and partly because half of the royal council looked it up and approved the request due to its delicate nature...and fear of sabotage"
"Oh right, The Misery Law" Celestia nods a couple of times as Luna exchanges a glance between the two completely lost "Now everything makes sense"
Luna was about to ask until Mark explain things up.
"One time a mare called Misery Pages was told about the plan his husband had made for their 16 years old son, to avoid the mares in his high school during the heat. She was desperate to have grandkids so she deliberately sabotage the plan and lead her son into a room with all of his female classmates. The poor boy die of dehydration and a broken pelvis by the third day. The husband not only file for divorce right away but also demanded a law to prevent such tragedy from ever repeating, and thus the misery law was born. One that establishes that no mare can't be made aware of any information regarding heat week preparations before time, including house modifications."
"Which include us, unfortunately," Celestia confirms, "Because of that law he simply CAN'T consult us for this sort of matter and instead must submit it to the closest stallion in power that can reject or approve of it, in other words the royal council." She sighs in defeat "I still got issues with how this was approved but can't deny the results and if you say it's safe then I believe you. What I don't get is how come none of those traps has sprung by accident before if they were here for years?"
"Because the contraptions were adjusted, rebuilt, and rigged in such a way that only males can activate or turn it off. Plus the traps have a targeting system lock on mares pheromones, so it literally can only be operated by a male and only this week specifically. Clever right?"
"That is the way to put it, Mark. Before, I was afraid of you being trapped in here, with hormonal unstable mares, including me. Now I'm starting to think that we got it the other way around."
"I like to think of it more as even the odds" He raised his glass "You got the numbers, and magic, I got the castle and my wits" He takes a sip of his drink.
"I can see that now, but even so. This whole ordeal looks like a high-risk gamble dear Mark. Are you sure you want to keep testing your luck with our guards, maids, and even us? The heat would only make things worse as the days pass" Celestia asks not hiding the concern in her voice, making him feel bad as he nods.
"Completely, just like I told you before, I raised the hopes of everyone here. It would be cruel to just ignore mares when they are struggling to even walk from the pain. Please trust me, this is exactly what I have trained for. I'm not gonna rush head first into the fire, of course, but I will not gonna a turnaround and pretend that there aren't mares crying in pain from their urges. I'll never be able to face myself in the mirror I did that"
Luna smiled at his determination before giggling "Keep that up and you will get reelected unopposed Mr. Mayor" She lift her cup "Fair enough if you truly believe capable of handling us then I will trust you."
"I'm still worried and highly doubt that fear will go away but Luna is right, we should put more faith in you, especially after seeing you handle the first day" She also raised her glass. "So I'm willing to give it a try"
"For a week try then"
"For a week trial!" They clank their cups and take a sip
"I'll keep solving your puzzle too" Celestia suddenly adds.
"What?" The human looked at her confused as she smirk and look at him with one eye
"Consider it a prevention, can't let my guards have all the fun, plus I can think of a solution or two to prevent me from losing control and thus keeping you safe, especially if I got access to more periodic doses of vitamin M"
Mark gulp the moment he saw a glimmer in her eyes as she started to linger a notch more in their drink. Yet he kept his cool as to avoid escalation.
"We will see how things play out, for now, let's change the subject. Tell me, usually what do you do during the week? I imagine you don't put all your duties on hold, right?"
They both roll their eyes and with a calm smile, the 3 keep chatting about everything, making the encounter more akin to an improvised date. The human even goes out of his way to give the mares some small amount of affectional gesture like 'accidental' hand touching, feeding the chocolate strawberries in slow playful motions around their lips making them giggle, subtlety letting Luna's head rest on his chest so she could hear his heart beat, letting Celestia rest her chin against his shoulder to take a swift and relax and even rubbing up and down their backs giving some shivers at their backs. All of this was a form of micro releases to keep them under control, yet he knew that was a losing battle as their affections seem to be escalating gradually.
Luckily for him, their eyes seem to be getting heavier too and with some good place pets, he manage to put their heads on his lap and keep spoiling them until the two started to fall asleep, with Celestia being the first to fall.
With a yawn look at him with some embarrassment "So sorry didn't know what came over me"
"It ok, I thought it was cute, go ahead and take a little nap if you wish"
"Hmm ok but only for a couple of minutes" She smirks lustful at him "You haven't had a turn on my lap yet"
He laughs and shakes his head "You are thinking naughty Luna" He mentions in a jester tune.
"And what if I am? Are you gonna spank me?" She taunts him wiggling her hips "I win, after all, I can command you to do it if I want. I bet that is what you are wanting to happen."
"Nah I have something better in mind"
"Oh, and what could that be?"
"This" With widen eyes Luna grew stiff when Mark planted a simple kiss on her lips, it was fairly simple and not overly lustful, primal, or force. Yet for some reason, it was enough to take Luna's breath away as time seem to be stopping and her mind slowly melts as her wings ruffle and her hair crisp a little as if she just got electrocuted.
Once it ended Mark smiled calmly at her "Good night princess Luna"
"Good night" She comply with a daze giggle before falling asleep.
The next morning the siblings woke up with a startle as they notices how Mark left them with an improvised bed made of pillows and blankets and he wasn't nowhere to be seen.
Blinking a couple of times they look around until their scrolls vibrate giving them the clue for the next location.
If silence remains my power I share. In this room, all stories are shared, no matter if they are facts or fakes.
At the dawn of the second day, those that figured out the clue made their way to the royal library. Some wanted to try their luck, while others were looking for a simple rematch after losing the previous trial. The latter chose to try this room alone, not wanting to pay for the mistakes of the rest.
An overweight pegasus mare with light pink fur and a dark pink long puffy mane, dressed in a formal purple suit at some point had to kneel down from the pain as she heard some mares rushing toward the human after they spot it until she realized they were heading straight into a bookshelf with an illusion rock projecting the image of the human.
"W-Wait! That is a...!" The mare tried to warn them but it was too late, and by the time they realized the trick, all of them crash into the bookshelf sprung rocky arms that grab hold of their limps pinning them against the furniture, two claws appearing underneath and ripping their lower pieces of clothing exposing their soaked pussies before they got to work fingering them as the shelf spin in place swallow their victims inside the fake wall. "...trap"
Surprise the mare slowly stood up leaning against a bookshelf before retreating her hand when another golem hand almost grab her and realizing the shelves against the wall were rigged, so she step lightly and headed to the center of the room.
"Well spot it" Suddenly she heard the voice of Mark behind her and before she could turn around he brought her into a bear hug and cover her mouth so as to not make any noise as he shush her. "Please, madam this is a library. We must stay quiet." He start to nuzzle her cheek which make her calm down as her mind started to cloud by the smell of a male. "Told you I'll be on the hunt too, but don't worry, I'm not here to send you to horny jail, in fact, you could consider this, a type of reward"
The mare starts to shiver as he rubs his hand on her arm and slowly lets go of the hug he starts to play with her stomach, while she starts licking his fingers.
"There you go, we are all friends here. In fact, I think we have met before. What is your name dear?"
"Dime Polisher" She replies in a whisper as he let her go and starts kissing her neck while she grinds her hips against his crouch "I'm the royal treasurer. We have clashed heads on more than one occasion when it comes to tax collection"
"Right! Dimey! What are you doing here?" He ask stopping his actions to look at her in honest surprise "I thought you would be with your husband or herd by now"
To his surprise, she suddenly went stiff and pushed him away "Way to ruin the mood jerk" She turns around and cross her arms with a huff.
"What did I do?"
"Please, spare me the lies. Husband or herd? I'm an obese pegasus in charge of everyone's taxes! I might as well be wearing a sign that reads "stud repellent". She looks down in shame "Not that I blame them if they don't fear me. What stallion would love a pig like me?"
Smiling he goes and hugs her from behind "Don't say that, you are a very attractive mare, in fact, to that question. Want the list in alphabetic or color palate?"
"I say enough with the...!" She wants to push him away but he tightened the hug
"I'm not lying!" He tells with authority startling Dime "Dimey you are a lovely, charming mare. Any stallion...no any herd would love to have you. Sure you can be a bit cold, and even aggressive and stiff when it comes to rules, and taxes."
She start to relax and let him continue his nuzzlings "But if you were a tinsy bit more friendly if you were just a notch more confident with yourself instead of hiding behind so much anger..." She shivers when he kisses her neck "Believe me, stallions would be lining up to see you. Mares too if you were interested"
She giggles cutely before looking away unsure "Liar, nobody likes fat chicks. You are just saying that just so I don't jump..." She is cut off when Mark interrupts her by pinching one of her sensitive nipples.
"Oh Dimey, you really should not be so harsh with yourself, sure there are stallions that like them thin, but a plus-size mare?" He growls in her ear making her shiver "Has their own irresistible charms, and right off the top of my head I can name four assets you can be more than proud of, one in between your legs been a prime example" He starts to play with her large breast making her nipples grow stiff and hard. "I bet if you tease others with this, succulent mountains just a tiny bit...well there is a reason I choose you Dimey, l could have chosen literally any other mare but seeing you in pain and with such a body, right in the open?" He tells lightly biting her left wing making all of her fur and feathers stand to an end. "An animal has to eat. Hope you understand. My point is you are way more attractive than what you give yourself credit for."
"P-prove it," She tells with a whimper starting to get more and more excited.
"Oh gladly but before there is a little message I need you to deliver the princesses, would you do that for me Dimey?" He asks pulling a lamp revealing a fake wall where he drags her into a secret room with a bed on it.
"I will say anything! You can play with my ass and tits as much as you want!" She surrenders to her lust and grabs his hands, but to his confusion rather than push him into the bed she guides him into placing one hand on her neck as to strangle her and the other to grab her wrist and press her arm against her back. "Pin me to the wall, and call me your dirty piggy bank! Make a deposit Mark, make a deposit on your naughty, dirty, piggy!" She tells with hearts in her eyes getting slightly desperate and wiggling her huge ass as Mark could only blink in confused arousal.
"Thank you Dimey, oh I'm sorry my sexy dirty piggy bank," He tells with a smile as he pins her against the bed and starts to work on undressing her while whispering the message into her ear, all the while Dime only giggles like a school filly in excited anticipation.
"G-Got it! AH...Yes! yes, this is happening it finally happening!" Dime was virtually drooling and then start to moan when Mark get to work on undressing her. Even though she was already worked up he decided to play a little and put two of his fingers into her drenched truffle as she giggle, shivered, and moans "Yes make my crack nice and wide for your big roll of cash"
Mark laugh and roll his eyes at her dirty talk until he saw some glow showing underneath his glove
Wait, no, no, no NOT now! In alarm, he try to pull away but it was too late as the suction swallow the globe and he saw his hand shining brightly before it discharge right into Dime's pussy provoking an orgasm and freezing her clit making it impossible for her to stop and continue to cum without any sigh of stopping, effectively turning the poor mare into a faucet, and losing her voice mid-scream as it continues for over a couple of minutes, until it was finally over.
"Oh god! Dime! Dime!" He grabs her cheeks as her eyes roll back "Talk to me, are you alright?" He shakes her a bit and her body finally goes limp.
Exhausted she starts to laugh briefly. "Don't know what that was, but by Celestia please tell me you can do it...with your dick. One seco...s" She falls unconscious in his arm and he let her go when noticing more sparks on his hand again follow by it going numb, and then an indescribable pain as it keeps discharging.
Hugging himself he grabs his hand and closes his eyes holding back tears trying to ride the pain.
The hex... its power is leaking!... I need...to re-seal it Grabbing his wrist and keeping the discharging hand close to his chest the human slowly goes away ignoring the pain and not even caring that he left his glove behind.
That afternoon in the throne room
Finishing some paperwork the princess couldn't help but feel a certain tension in the room. Soon after taking a nap Ink Well return to relative normalcy. She didn't explain much and only request that they don't ask what exactly happen and to go back to work as if nothing had happened, which the princess was completely on board yet one question kept pestering at the back of her head.
What exactly did Mark do to you and why he didn't do it to me?
The sound of hooves on the floor alert the two mares and looking up they saw Princess Luna arriving for the shift of rulers, as well as the quo for Inkwell to take her leave for the end of her shift. Bowing respectfully at the two the secretary took her papers and left the room so the siblings could have a moment for themselves.
"Hello Tia"
"Evening Lulu, did you rest well?"
"I did, thanks for asking" They keep the formal greeting up until the guards and Inkwell leave. Once they heard the door close and Celestia nodded, Luna let go a sigh before speaking "We need to talk about Mark"
"Oh by the stars, thank you! We sure have" Celestia reply with a nod as she stood up and approach Luna "I gather the same happen to you then?"
Luna raised an eyebrow at that statement "Too? Wait that is what you meant by 'vitamin M'? Sister! When did you...?" Celestia cut her off.
"Rest assured, the kiss was as much of a surprise for me as it was for you. And more surprising, seems to have affected you in the same form, did it not?"
"Yes and I just don't understand why?" Luna paced back and forward "It was merely a kiss, it wasn't lustful, it wasn't forced, for pony sake, I'm not even sure if it was passionate or long! How come something so simple manages to clear our heads so much!"
"I don't know Luna, I simply don't know, but I know one thing. If we are to find out, we would need further investigation"
"Agree, for the sake of science and to keep each other in line we need to work together in solving Mark's riddles" Luna extend her hand, and with a nod Celestia complete the gesture, sealing the dealing "There haven't been any winners yet, right?" Luna raised an eyebrow as her sister shake her head.
"None seems like with each day everyone's minds but ours get duller and focus on their more primitive urges, which means we are STILL on the lead sort of speak" Celestia announce with pride until their heard a knocking on the door.
Moments later a guard entered with Dime in a similar stated Inkwell was 2 days ago. "I'm sorry your highness, she insisted that it was urgent. It ah...eh a message from the mayor" Immediately their nostrils flare up and could detect Mark's smell on a globe she was wearing as the mare bowed to them.
"Pardon the interruption your highness, but the mayor insists that I brought this message in pony"
"Think nothing of it Ms. Dime" Luna answered "Please tell us, what news do you have?"
"The mayor asked me to tell you this. 'In order to mix things up and inject some friendly competition. Today there could only be one winner"
The room became completely silent at the revelation minus Dime who keep giggling in complete satisfaction "Don't ask me, I'm just the messenger and by Celestia, what a payment for being one" She proclaim in pride as the princesses process the message and take suspicious glances at one another.
At the same time in a secret room located in the library
Fighting off the pain, Mark completes an octagram drawing with the omega symbol in the middle of it, on the floor made of wooden ashes. Taking out a small bottle he pour a strange purple liquid that caused the circle to ignite on a purple flame. Sitting cross leg the human took a depth breath and extend his palm at the flames "I seek the assistance of the Sisterhood of Ohms."
Suddenly from the flames emerged a giant antropormorfic elderly Olm nun, dressed in the usual black and white cleric uniform deck full of jewelry with a purple veil covering her mouth and only showing her milky eyes as she extend her arms at the surprised human.
"Mother Superior?!" The human exclaimed slightly startle that she answer the call.
"Human child, I was expecting your call" The elder olm addressed the human with a calm serene, and almost maternal voice, as even with the veil the human knew she was smiling at him. "Let me see you, child. I have yearned to admire how much you have grown since the last time we last spoke"
"It nice seeing you too Mother Superior" Mark replies having recovered from the initial shock, "Even if a bit abrupt"
With a raised eyebrow the Olm chuckled briefly "I see you are still unfazed by my ability to admire you despite my blindness"
"It's a human thing, Mother, like I told you before, for me is easier to believe" He has to hold his hand again from the pain "And not to be rude or anything but why did you answer Mother? I was sure one of the sisters would have taken the call"
"Because today is a joyful occasion and I anticipated you would be calling today, so I waited to give you a very special message" She gets closer to him "The last candle finally snuff out dear. Your hexes have finally reached maturity"
His eyes wide as he looks up at her "The candles light up? How? You told me, that because I didn't have magic, the process would not even start and the best I could hope was using half its potential"
"Please forgive me for my white light, the time of the candles has always been unpredictable and the process could take either 5 days or 5 years. I didn't want to tie you up in the tribe. But the truth is, the timer started soon after you left. And today the mother of all has accepted you into her boson child. Soon the final mark on your back would appear, marking the end of your training. Rejoice!"
"So this searing pain..." He can't finish as he has to clench his teeth and close his eyes while holding his hex hand.
"Yes, it is unfortunately part of the process, but more importantly, it announces the time to show your mark. Human child..." She extend her hand at him "You are yet to master the final 6 hexes, and I'm afraid by reaching maturity the resealing would no longer take any effect, there is no choice but to speed up your mastery of those final marks"
"But Mother Superior, those hexes...they are my less favorite...how am I...? I don't want to hurt anyone" He explains with a worried tune. "Plus the pain..."
She places her hand on top of his hexed one "Remember your heal hex child, overlap that image into this one. Numb the pain until it has gone" She instructs as her own hand shine showing a symbol of 3 crosses interlocked inside a circle helps him reveal his own version, she overlaps her hand on top of his until the pain is gone.
"I can overlap hexes?!" He asks in shock as the Olm chuckled again
"Dear child, there is still plenty for you to learn. But do not fret as the Sisterhood is here to aid you. Surrender yourself to the hex, and let them guide you as they do right now, it seems you will begin your training with the nerve leech mark. Just follow the instructions I will leave you and everything would be fine, do not fight it, and remember, be cautious at all times until you master each hex. I have faith in you. Best of luck dear child" The Mother Superior banishes as the fire extinguishes leaving behind only a pile of ashes and a book that materializes in the middle of the circle one with instructions for Mark to follow in order to master his powers.
He start to give it a quick read over the pages and scan the section regarding how to master the leech hex until an alarm caught his attention as a mare in a purple hood seems to be the closest to solving his room.
Said mare, made her way to the center of the room where there was a statue of the mane six holding up a key with their cutie mark on the base. Humming she starts to inspect the eyes when someone comes, alerting her as she hides behind the statue.
"So we agree then? We will trust that none of us will try anything, no matter who wins" Luna mentions as she and Celestia made their way to the statue.
"At least at the moment, and for the sake of the investigation" Celestia nods as she looks around "Considering how this challenge focus on deep thinking, only one mare in her full capacities would be able to solve it. So we can trust whoever wins would not be drunk it her own lust" She then starts inspecting the place until something caught her attention "And it appears we don't have much of a choice in the matter" She points at the ceiling where a cherub was crossing his arms in an X "Seems like this puzzle literally can't be solved unless there is only one mare present"
Celestia headed to the entrance as the mare in the hood teleported away "You go first"
"Are you sure sister? If I win you lose your chance"
"Consider my show of trust in you," She tells before smirking "Besides if you fail, there would be one less trap for me to deal with"
"Right..., wait HEY!" Luna complains but when Celestia steps out of a doorframe a wall of rock emerges locking Luna in the room a series of clicks are heard and the cherubim move his hands to extend them forward as a series of plates appear on the statues, one in a desk in front of it and 6 podiums emerge around the statues with a holder for books on them. The mares now sported different numbers on their chests and on the desk there was an inscription on the plate that reads: 'what are we?'
As Luna re-read the inscription she tries to take notice of everything around her
Hmm clearly a mental challenge, let's see. Celestia told me that I need to take a close look at everything as nothing seems what they are at first.
She start to inspect the statues until she notices their eyes and how they were all looking at different hallways, noticing how the entire room had the shape of a heptagon, with one edge acting as the entrance and 12 long bookshelves creating 6 different hallways.
That it! The key means that the mane six ARE the clues to the question, it is asking what are the mane six. So if they are pointing to the answer... She enters one of the hallways and walks until she finds the bookshelf leaning against the wall with only 3 books on them. The book of friendship, a rule book for a rodeo, and a farming manual I knew it! The answer is the main six! Aka this book, She tells in confidence as she extends her hand to grab it.
There is a strong buzz and the room goes red briefly before it opens again for Celestia who looks around in surprise "Luna?" She looks around in worry as it closes again
No, it couldn't, Luna is smarter than this, she couldn't have... Her fears are confirmed when she starts to hear some low moaning coming from a series of books spreading around the floor approaching one on the far corner she picks one up after hearing Luna and flipping throw the pages she sighs and shakes her head when discovers Luna got trap inside an adult romance book, as she sees her sister dress on a Victorian dress as a count works on undressing her showering her in kisses.
"Oh Luna" She shakes her head in disappointment "You didn't read the clue carefully did you? With a sigh, she put the book back on one of the shelves now understanding how the books on the floor were the prisons for the failed players.
"Just relax and enjoy your book sister." She pats the book a couple of times in pity "Your sister will solve this"
Returning to the center Celestia start to look closely at the statue again and read the question.
I see. A riddle fill with traps and easy to mislead Celestia smirks as she advances toward another hallway Nice try Mark, but you would have to try better than that. This isn't asking for them as a whole, rather is asking what their jobs are
Understanding the clue Celestia starts to work on placing the correct book, noticing how each book had a dud, and a misleading one, like with AJ having the option of rodeo or farming, Dash between flying moves or Wonderbolts, and Rarity between precious gems and fashion. Grabbing the correct one, in each pedestal and turning the right page according to the statues. Each of their eyes glows and they move forward a little revealing a platform hidden behind them. Celestia was making good progress until she approached Twilight hallway and found the same book of friendship, one about how to be a princess and one about advanced magic spells, leaving the princess cold as she start to sweat.
Maybe? No NO! She shakes her head Another misleading trap, to distract me from the obvious answer. Which is, this!
Passing back and forward the hooded mare takes glances at the entrance until another buzz startles her as the room opens once again
Th-The princess...FAIL?! She scream in her head not believing what was happening as she enter and try her luck. Once more she analyzed the situation and inspect the option in each hallway finding out that all of the bookshelves had the book of friendship and two more that could easily represent each element.
This is harder than I thought each book could easily be a valid answer to the question. Think, there must be something else to it! She returns to the entrance and re-reads the question before looking at the statues What are we? Shouldn't a better question be Who are we? Her eyes widen in realization.
Unless...that is the idea, it not asking as a whole but as individuals mares. None of them are wearing their tiaras or are transformed. The statue of Twilight is even a unicorn! That is it. So the answer of what are we? She slowly places the correct book, of farming opening on the page of apples.
A farmer... Then a history of fashion and how to construct different clothes assembly opening on using gems as accessories ...a tailor... The manual for the wonderbolts ...a flyer..., a book on breeding and caring for wildlife...a caretaker... Noticing how Twilight was holding a book the mare rolled her eyes and smiled as she place a magic book ...a student, laughing a little, place the final book in front of Pinkie Pie regarding parties ...and a party planner
All their eyes light up and they lift their head as six pillars raise them further into the air revealing a platform with a slot in the middle of it. In the pillars, there were 2 symbols of horns, wings, and hoofs. The plate flip and underneath it appears a piece of a scroll, and a pen to write on it.
Inspecting the question the mare took the pen and understand this was a writing question that she needed to summit.
Who healed, who protect, and who saved Equestria? She was startled by the question as she look up at the statues again for clues taking more on the details of the symbols, how 3 keys were golden and even if hard to catch, notices how the mares all were wearing wigs.
GOT it, he is referring to the founders, the pillars, and the mane six! Oh but once again the order could be referred to any of them! The mare start to get worried and took glances between the statues and the paper a couple of times.
Unless...they already gave me the answer? She questions herself and stealing her nerves start to write down her answer
Heal implies Equestria was sick, plus the golden keys were with Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. They play the role of the founders...I can only assume he refers to the windigo's invasion since they stay the longest. Protect was in the present tense while the rest was in the past tense. And the pillars had two copies of each tribe, so he literally must be referring to the pillars... who protected Equus from the pony of shadows until recently, leaving the last one kind of obvious.
Once finish she approaches the slot and kneels down to place her paper Please, please, please let it be it! Gulping she summit her paper and braced for the worse when she hears a click yet nothing else happens.
Looking around she is confused until the platform lower revealing itself as a lift bringing her to the lower floor as green light and ring sounds are heard repeatedly.
"Very well done, milady" Mark smiled as he was prepared to receive the victorious mare with a small bow and holding a towel in his arm to hide the shine underneath it. Behind him, the mare could see aromatic candles, a desk with lotions, and a massage table ready to be used.
It didn't take a genius to figure out wanted to convince her into letting him give her a massage. "Congratulation on solving my mind riddles" Ending the gesture he looks up at her with a calm smile. "Before we begin, may I have your name?"
"It ok Mark" The human eyes wide as he recognized the voice and pulling her hood, he saw the face of Twilight Sparkle smiling back at him "You don't need to put on an act for me. I not under the influence of the heat"
"Tw-Twilight?! Wha...how? Why are you here?!"
"To help dodge dangerous and hormonally unstable royal guards" She answer right away as she looks around "And get you out of this den of lionesses" She explain with a worried tone as she turns to look him in the eyes "Mark, things have gotten tense outside"
"Well yeah, they always do" He shrugged "It's heat week Twilight it would be weird if they weren't tense. Speaking of which" He raised an eyebrow "How did you manage to get inside the shield? Come to think of it, how come you are not affected by the heat?"
"I and Starlight figure out a spell to keep us..." She pretends to cough and look away with a blush "... cold-headed sort of speak. As for how I got here, the shield works by Tartarus laws, it conjured to prevent anyone from going out, but not from coming in."
"Then you just trap yourself in here"
"Nope, I also found a blind spot on the lowest sublevel in the castle, that we can use to get out. But we can discuss that later like I say things have gotten tense on the outside and I don't mean the heat, you need to come with me right..." Twilight grab the hand he was covered under the towel, which activate the hex and the human could only see in horror as the tattoo shone and zap Twilight making her lose her balance.
"Twilight!" At the last second Mark manage to grab her and clenching his fist, turn off his hex as she slowly regains consciousness "No, no, not now! Twilight! Are you ok?"
"Hmm? Y-Yeah I'm ok, just a bit tired" She mentions with a drowsy smile as she looks at the massage table "Mind if I..."
"Ah sure sure" Mark guides her to the table for her to sit and sighs in contentment "Pretty cozy place you got here" She whistles in admiration of the secret room "Where you intended to give a massage to the winner?"
He laugh casually "Yeah pretty much, I have been practicing a little, and well, with the heat any mare would appreciate a shoulder massage, but it looks like it not gonna a happen now "
"Je anyone would love a good massage regardless of their condition" Twilight responds and he notices how her eyes start to get lustful.
Oh crap, did I just zap away the cooling spell?
"You know it will be a shame to let all of this go to waste" She started to unbutton her shirt while biting her lower lip "We might as well use this place since everything is already set"
Yep, she just lost it Internally sighing Mark nods and over her a basket full of lotions. I would not be getting anything out of her now. Not until she managed to cool off again, meaning it is business as usual.
"Couldn't agree more, by all means, Twilly choose one. We can talk later. Oh and don't worry you don't need to get naked for this, you can stay in your underwear" He suggest when she was down to her frilly dark purple and black bra and panties, making him notice how much she has grown.
My god, I don't remember if she had them big before but now, she is almost on pair with Luna's Mark gulps and looks away taking some small glances at her easily F-size breast covered by one thin layer of clothing.
"Oh, it's ok" She giggles and grabs the towel to cover her body before teleporting her underwear right into Mark's hand who immediately notices how wet her panties have become. With wide eyes he saw his hand before looking at the mare who was holding the towel with only one hand against her chest as it barely cover her "I'm not shy" she flutter her eyelash and ever so slowly lay on her stomach, putting the towel under her ass before reaching out for her lotion "This one."
"G-Great choice Twily" Mark grab the lotion and put the underwear next to the rest of her clothes in a corner of the room.
Winking Twilight lay her head on the hole in the table and wiggle her hips "I'm ready Mr. Mayor"
With a sigh, Mark shake his head and then look at his hand which was discharging occasionally
Well I might as well practice on her, and hey she is an alicorn, I'm sure she would not care if I take a sip of her energy.
Remembering the instructions Mark close his eyes and relax his palm allowing the energy to flow naturally before it travels all over his body until it reaches his eyes. Opening them in surprise the human was shocked to see some kind of easy-to-read nervous system in Twilight's body with luminescent dots connecting them, a cluster of them gathering at her horn and the base of her wings. Looking at his hands he notices the hex has finished forming into the shape of the mouth of a leech with Celtic runes scrips around it.
Curious he extend his hand and reach one dot in the middle of one of Twilight's scapulas right where her wings connect, once he made contact a swirl of purple energy left Twilight's body and into the mouth whose teeth seem to come to life and move in a spiral like some kind of chainsaw making her gasp and arc her back.
"W-What was that?" Twilight asks in surprise turning to look at him.
"S-Sorry, forgot that point was a bit sensitive, one second" Mark apologized and chuckled before reviewing the book that Mother Superior gave him.
Those are astral points where magic converges?!... And if I touch them I...I'm sucking her magic?! Oh no please, let it be...yes! I can give it back, ok let try this again
Sighing once more he puts the book away and turns to the princess with a confident smile.
"Is everything alright?" Twilight asks with worry.
"Never better, now please lay down Twily and let my hands do their magic"
Smiling Twilight complies and lays down once more as Mark claps his hands together as the two show the leech mouths before he turns on a stereo. "Let's put some ambient, shall we?"
Putting lotion on his hands he starts to work slowly on her back being careful with her wings but putting special attention to her astral points mentally picturing himself returning and taking her magic in slow calm strokes. The result is small micro discharges that make the mare constantly gasp, flinch and moan as her eyes get heavier and heavier.
"Oh my, Mark your fingers...feel amazing"
Smiling he gets a bit bolder treating her more sensitive spots yet Twilight uses her magic to grab his hands and make him feel her wings more directly making them grow stiff and ruffle her feathers before they relax, approaching her hips she makes him go further south and treat her giant firm yet bubbly ass. Lingering there Mark lick his lips loving the small treat he was receiving especially as he found more astral points to play with and taking special joy in how her tail sprung up like it was just shot with electricity as he get closer to it. The room continues to be filled with her moans and grunts as her neither gets wetter and wetter.
"A-Ah M-Mark AH! It-Ah oh Celestia, I...AH...there...AH! How are you...? OH! D-Don't stop! I...AH! Oh, this is heaven!"
Smirking Twilight surprise him by turning around showing her very stiff and wet breasts at him and issue to come closer with a finger as she lick her lips as well, shaking his head he playfully push her down the table making her pout as he decided to work on her legs.
The princess was getting a bit frustrated but the sensation was too nice so she let him play with her some more until Mark found the frog on her hoof, sitting down he start massaging them pressing a specific dot in the center of it.
The reaction was immediate as Twilight eyes wide like dinner plates and she lost her voice. Her nipple became as hard as diamonds. Losing her motor functions she grabs the side of the table with one hand while the other grab into the towel for dear life as Mark press harder and make slow motions with his thumb in one of her hoofs, she tries to repel him with her other leg but he grabs it and repeats the process.
Her eyes roll back and her tongue hang out as she ark her back shivering constantly
Time for the big finish
Smirking Mark return all of her magic in one shot right into her feet causing her entire body to go stiff as her breasts palpitated and then shoot a very long stream of milk that doesn't show any sign of stopping. The towel became drenched in her own orgasm and started to stream even more of her juices, and her eyes were covered in tears and stars as she ride the biggest orgasm of her life.
"HOOOOLYYYY STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARS!!!!" She finally scream as her second stronger orgasm came and a stream of her mare cum almost hit Mark if he hadn't dodged at the last second. Free of his hold she can ride off the afterglow and lay in bed panting like crazy with tears in her eyes, covered in lotion, sweat, and her own juices as she brings one of her hands to her chest in an attempt to calm her beating heart.
Smiling in victory Mark bring her another tower to cover herself with before kissing her forehead "Hope that helps you relax, sweet dreams"
"No...wait...don't...go" She weakly try to reach him but he put her hand away
"We can talk later, for now, just rest Twily"
He instructs and leaves as Twilight tries again but her eyes went heavy and she falls asleep.
Exiting the room and dodging more guards Mark admires his hand and smile when the mouth distort and transform into 3 decagrams of different sizes stack one on top of the others inside a circle, which he can show disappear at will.
Nice! That is one down, 5 to go He looks in the direction he left Twilight Thank you Twilight I couldn't have done it without you.
Later that evening two very messy Princesses glare daggers at Twilight while crossing their arms demanding an explanation, as the poor mare could only stare down in embarrassment having been caught red-handed. "So let me get this straight, you enter the dome because you had so little faith in me and Luna, and convince yourself that you needed to save Mark from us?" Celestia asks with a raised eyebrow.
"No! I-I mean, maybe? But Princess that is not why I'm here, you have to understand..."
"Oh, we understand Twilight" Luna interrupts her before looking at the mess she left the room in "We understand that despite being a fully grown mare, a certain princess is acting like a spoiled filly making up excuses for why she really is here. Not caring how much of an insult is that she doesn't trust her elders."
"I was caught in the moment!" Twilight defend herself "None of this was the plan, I...I really thought I have everything under control"
With a sigh Celestia close her eyes and shake her head "Ok Twilight I will grant you a chance, what was the real reason for your arrival?"
"I needed to warn Mark, that outside the castle, crime is on the rise, and the royal guard doesn't know what to do."
"Impossible, with the risk of the heat going on, no mare would have the capacity of executing any kind of heist and any stallion might as well be throwing himself into a room full of hungry lionesses if he were stupid enough to try " Luna responded.
"And that is the issue! It seems like they don't care. Stallions are going around town trying to rob anything they can, not caring if they are caught or not, thinking Canterlot politics are weak and the mayor is beyond incompetent for letting a problem this big slide by without any sort of plan. Ponies are starting to think Mark is hiding in luxury while everyone else suffers, and his speech didn't help on the matter."
Twilight stand up in fear "Mark needs to issue an order or do something so ponies know he hasn't forgotten them. That is why I'm here, to help him out. If I step up and try to help the public would think he really IS incompetent. That is why he needs to show Equestria that he is still the same mayor they remember"
The princesses look at one another before turning to Twilight "And how were you pretending to do that? Communications are cut off and no one can get out as long as the shield is in place" Celestia questions but Twilight just holds her tongue and look down.
I'm sorry Princesses, but I can't tell you. Canterlot has never seen two ancient alicorns going into heat, and if you knew there was a way to escape, everyone could be in so much danger
With a sigh, Celestia looks down in disappointment "It's not that I don't believe you Twilight, lying isn't like you, so I will issue some orders to help the town and give credit to Mark. That could ease up the heat at least a little" She started to walk away "I know of protocols to put in place in case of this kind of situation"
"You do?" Twilight looked at her in surprise yet Celestia wasn't done.
"Nonetheless you seem to be set on denying not having any other reason for being here" She takes a glance at the mess in the room "No matter how pointless and pathetic that claim is. So make no mistake Twilight, we will help and you are welcome to stay in one of our guest rooms, but as of today, the greatest danger Mark is facing right now is you, and Luna and l would have no choice but to view you as such"
"Princess" Twilight try to reason but Luna would have none of that.
"Do not test our patience Ms. Sparkle" She reprimands with a scowl. "Thank your lucky star we aren't throwing you into the dungeon for being a potential threat. Until this heat is over we will keep an eye on you" Luna proclaim before following her sister
"I...I understand" Twilight finally nods in defeat and sighs staring at the ground
I can't even be mad when I think exactly the same of you two. I hate to do this but if I want to keep Mark safe I have no choice but to keep an eye on you two. She promises herself while two guards escort the princess to her old room in the castle.
While that happen and once Twilight was out of earshot Luna get closer to Celestia.
"You are mostly upset she won the challenge too, don't you?"
"It was right there! How come I didn't notice her statue didn't have wings?!" Celestia huffed in frustration not caring in confirming her sister's suspicion "That should have been me. This kind of puzzle is my bread and butter"
Despite everything, Luna can't help but let go a small chuckle "Don't worry sister you would get it next time...if I don't go there first"
"Oh it's on Lulu" She looks down in shame and turns back "Were we too harsh on her?"
"It had to be said, I fully trust Twilight but if that room and this heat have taught me something, is that we can't fully trust ourselves or each other. Not until our loins go back to normal." Luna tells and Celestia nods in agreement as they retired to their rooms.
"To enter a ticket is gold, in here history was made, in here parties have been held where 6 once make a mess, and after some purple, things got became greater yet again."
With a new clue given and more determined than ever. The princesses made their way to the ballroom in the castle where they start to hear techno music. Twilight raised an eyebrow and was about to open the door when Luna grab her wrist.
"Are we completely clear on what is gonna happen?"
Twilight rolls her eyes as Luna let her go "We are only gonna talk and keep him safe, we are gonna work together and keep an eye on each other to make sure neither of us slips" She repeated.
"Twilight I know this seems hard but it is for our own good this is the third day, you know how things heat up from this point onwards" Celestia reasoned with pity making her smile.
"I understand princess I just wish we could trust each other a bit more, and you stop being jealous, I mean I kind of get it but still" She shrugs.
"Thanks for understanding, this time of the year is Tartarus and a half on its own but the idea of not being able to trust us breaks my heart even more" with a smile Celestia was about to open before looking at them once more "also are we clear on the...?"
"Yes you can get the kiss if it offers," Both princesses tell her and she smiles "Thanks, and do not worry Twilight, Mark has been extremely cautious with this game of his, I'm sure we would not need to worry about any...thing?"
With that out of the way, the mares enter, and once that happens they were greeted by an unusual picture. So far Mark has been elusive and made sure to always stay out of view, but this time the human once more change the rules of the game. This time, instead of hiding, the human was out in the open serving as the DJ of the party, at the very end of the room wearing a set of headphones, shades a semi-open-up shirt showing some of his skin and some gold in the form of necklaces, rings, and even wrist bands. All while blocking the stairs to the second floor which he converted into the V.I.P room, complete with a door and walls to grant privacy while the party continue, with music at full blast.
Not only that, the human seem to be everywhere now as copies of him were spread across the room dancing with all the mares who seem to act normal and not wanted to mount him, for some reason, making the place look more like a night club, complete by the windows covered with blinds, laser and fog machines, a dance floor that nobody was using and for some reason, personal cages suspended in the air.
Mark this is the opposite of being cautious! Celestia complains internally as the mares enter the room and immediately the doors close behind them startling the group and getting the attention of the DJ.
"Ah, PRINCESSES! So glad for you to join us!" Mark called for them to throw the DJ boot. "I know what you are gonna say and you are right, this is WAY different than the usual games we play" He smirk before, making the light from some near lasers bounce off and blind them briefly before he continue "But considering how much the heat is starting to mess with your heads, making it harder to reason, I though on a way to shake your minds back on track a bit by adding a physical challenge into the mix, with me as a tantalizing bait! Consider it, my way of giving you all lovely ladies a particularly easy fun game for us to play!"
They all cheer in agreement and a pegasus raise her wings and flies at him for a lustful induced tackle. The princesses watching raised their wings and were about to spring into action when Mark scratched one of his records and, two giant stereos next to him aim at the mare before shooting a strong sound wave that leave her floating in mid-air until she moan loudly and fall into the arms of his copies as she keeps twitching with her pants now wet, lifting her up a cage descended and open from the bottom before capturing the pegasus and raise her into the air with the other prisoners.
"Ah, ha ladies, remember this IS still a game of hunt and hunter, so no cheating and no forgetting that I'm also hunting" Mark laugh as they all watch him, from his perspective he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt from putting all those mares under an illusion spell. Thanks to the show of lights and the fog machine, no one pay any attention to the third eye in the mayor's forehead blinking occasionally putting those that lose his game on a mental illusion as he issues the order of "have fun on a night club" as well as creating the copies of himself that in reality were just mannequins with limited movement and a dildo attack to whom the mares could dance, convince them to be him.
In reality, the losers were serving as a practice to his mind hex, as he used a special sound frequency and small pink vibrators to keep them calm and happy after they were put in jail.
Just as I thought, the more mares I use this eye, the harder it gets to keep the illusion going Cleaning some sweat from his forehead the human smile and continue pointing at the still confused mares at the entrance.
"Speaking of which, what would you like to do your highnesses? Dare to take my game and join me in the V.I.P room with the risk of being sent to...the cage?" He points up and they understand the objective of the cages as those that lose or don't follow the rules are then trapped, in a small cage with a dance pole inside. A couple of mares decided to start a strip tease while dancing there. "Or just let this day slide and simply enjoy the party!" He calls and another round of cheers is heard.
"The choice is yours, just know this is a team effort so you better work together." He instruct pointing at the edge of the dance floor where the mares saw 3 sets of wireless headphones on top of pillars. "If you still want to proceed then put on those headphones and we can start the game! Or just show us what you got! Come on your highness! I have been dying to see your moves" Mark tease them before resuming working on the music.
For their part, the princesses look at one another before smiling and nodding in determination before heading to the pillars and putting on the headphones. Immediately the music stop and every look at them. Mark copies reverting back to dummies much to the surprise of various mares.
"Well isn't this touching, a genuine show of trust and comradery! Impressing considering the day and how thirsty many mares here have gotten, what about a round of applause for the princesses everyone? Even in heat they still are pillars of morality and self-control!" He claps and others mares soon join in cheering for them briefly before Mark continues.
"And now we would put that trust and the famous alicorn stamina to a test!" Pressing a bottom he lowers a cage in front of them, lowers the pillars, and raises a panel with 3 card slots on it "Like I say this will be a team effort, so choose who will go into the cage, who will mingle and who will face off in the dance floor, once decided we will begin!"
They look at one another before Luna smirks "You should go to the dance floor Tia"
"Why me?"
"Something tells me the cage will be lifted so chances are I'm going to be the lookout which I better than you two, from my years of surveillance at night. On the same token Twilight is the best at approaching ponies of the 3, so she should be the one mingling" Luna reasons.
"Plus those card key slots make me think that one of us will have to collect special cards for this trial" Twilight reason "And to be honest I too have been wondering how good of a dancer you are princess" She confesses with a blush making Celestia chuckle
"If you are so curious then fine, I will take that post, just try focusing on the task" Celestia nodded and proceed to the center of the dance floor to stare at Mark. Her expression turned to worry when he grab his head in pain for a moment.
Luna didn't seem to notice as she enter the cage and Twilight went to stand behind the panel "Awesome! We have our contestants! Let's get this party started!" Pressing another bottom everything went black before techno music blasted through and the room was filled to the brim with shadow figures dancing everywhere as the party was in full swing. Luna's cage close and lift her up and their headphones come to life so Mark could explain the rules.
"This is how it works each of you needs to work together to keep the dance floor on. Luna, I'm gonna show you a sequence of arrows in a screen in front of me" As un cue, a screen is lowered and hidden Mark before being turned on and shows 4 black arrows.
Not only that but a cage is lower and traps Celestia on the dance floor with a small sliding door in the center of each corner. "By following the bit you keep the dance floor alive, so Celestia can have a dance battle with my dummy copies that Twilight needs to go find, dance, and lead inside. You would recognize them by having a specific colored beanie, I will instruct in each round. Celestia, you must win 3 dance battles in order to collect the V.I.P passes they have and pass them to Twilight so she can place them on the panel. Do that and you win"
"So this truly will be an endurance and teamwork test then. Fine by me" Luna smile in determination and brace herself "Challenge accepted"
"Don't forget trust" Mark reminds them "Yes for this game, instead of my typical traps you'll need to be on the lookout for your teammates since at any moment I would suggest a way for them to win by themselves and let the other two fall to horny jail"
"What?! "Their eyes wide and they look at one another with worried.
"I know this seems cruel but this heat mess with your heads and makes you act and think differently than you normally do. So consider this a building exercise, I need to either make sure that Twilight's arrival didn't make things tense among you or deal with whoever is losing their minds the most, please prove to me that you are still in control and haven't reverted to some lustful beasts."
They still look unsure but ultimately nod understanding where he was coming from.
"Also, one final piece of advice, try to pace yourself as for each challenge the music will go faster and one wrong move will spring my trap. With that out of the way, let this party start!"
And with the screen came to light and arrows start to fall as Luna try to match them to the bit of the music. Her movements make the dance floor, come to life as well and Celestia calmly takes off her high heels and waits for Twilight to find her first opponent.
Ok time to test their trust "Ok Twilight you are looking for green beanie me, among the crowd. But be on the lookout for the gold beanie. You grab the gold card and straight to the V.I.P room" He instructs her making the poor mare pause and stop dancing as she looked around the crowd looking for dummies with green beanies but on the far corner she swore to have seen the golden one.
Oh, this could be my chance. It's not that I don't trust the princesses but for how they are...they can't know about the blind spot The poor princess is turned unsure of what to do as she dances her way to her target, racking her head over and over again she steels her nerves and make up her mind as she brings Celestia first opponent. The princess smiled and stretch as she look at Mark waiting to start the dance off.
"Have to say young Mark, I don't recall engaging in this kind of battle before, so please go easy on me"
"Don't worry Celly I will take this nice and slow" The dummy smiled and start to dance to the beat of the music as the crowd gathered with slow easy to follow movements making the princess smirk
"Thanks"
To the surprise of everyone she breaks it down at a fast pace and elaborate moves that dance around his opponent leaving him speechless as she grabs the card and closes his jaw "Ah a bit rusty but I still have it, thanks for going easy on me" She smirks and collect the green card for Twilight to put on the panel.
Mark is right, this is no time for us to after our throats we need to trust each other more than ever.
Satisfy by her convictions Mark goes to test the next princesses as he changes the song.
"Ah so somebody came to play then? Fine, let's set the floor on fire!" He proclaims as the next song starts.
With everyone moving even faster both Luna and Twilight find it harder to find their targets and start to work a sweat
"Kind of unfair, don't you think?" Mark spoke to Luna "You and Twilight put on their best moves and Celly only has to dance two more times"
"Don't even bother young Mark, our trust is iron tight, you would not be able to break it"
"I'm just saying, of the 3 you seem to deserve a turn the most, and you can always say it was an accident? Just press the red arrows, and take control of the dummies"
That caught her attention as she see some arrows being red "Dance to another beat and the cage goes right into the room. Don't you want to share a meal with me, Luna? Just the two of us?"
Gulping Luna doesn't say a thing and tries to concentrate even harder as Celestia seems to be struggling with her next opponent instead of one she seems to have to fight against 3 dancers. "It will be almost a favor, she fails and you 3 pay the price, you should totally get the reward"
"...Nice try, but as I say!..." She dances even faster and is specially methodic in avoiding the red arrows until they disappear once Twilight collects and places a red card, at this point, the 3 were panting "...heat or not, we will not betray each other!"
The audience cheer at their commitment and Mark nods and smile That is the Luna I know and love
"Tears, actual tears of joy, I have never seen such trust and dance moves like this before ladies you choose wrong, you definitely were born to dance!" Mark tells before laughing slowly
"But it seems you are slowly working, a sweat and this final song. Oh this one will truly test your stamina ladies" Mark goes and place the final record to start playing
Once more everything seems to move even faster and the play with lights and lasers makes it harder for Twilight to find the final opponent for Celestia but when she did, the princesses were impressed when they seem to be the most talented of the much, complicated moves, jumps, spins and choreographic movements leaving Celestia stunt.
"Sounds a bit unfair don't you think Celly? Five against one, but I will tell you what, see the one with a silver card? He is the easiest to grab, take it and you can..."
"Thank you, Mark" She remove the headphones "But that would not be necessary, besides I'm done warming up. I will say this thought. You are right, five against one is not fair...for them" Smirking Celestia rip part of her skirt making it into a mini skirt, and used the fabric to comb her mane into a ponytail before getting into position "Let me show you how its done, boys!"
Dear god was that hot Mark can't help but gulp at the display and even more at how once more Princess Celestia keep owning the floor by creating copies with magic and making more and more complex moves as she defeat each opponent as the audience keep chanting her name over and over again until the song finally ends with the princess dispelling the clones and spinning in place just to lay in the ground with a relax stand and the final purple card on her lips. "Don't mess with the queen" She winks as confetti is shot announcing her victory and releasing her from the cage that slid back underground.
Everyone cheers at them as Luna is lower and panting the 3 princesses stood in front of the screen as it raises up and reveals DJ's boot split in half to make space for the stairs that lead to the V.I.P, where Mark already went ahead.
Entering the room, the 3 were met by a glamourous spacious room with a pole and a stage at the end of the room, two large sofas opposite to one another leaning against the walls, a fully equipped mini-bar with a transparent window in the left of both sofas, four glasses place on a small wooden table in the middle of the room and sitting in the middle of one of the sofas none other than Mark who was patting slightly but still smiles and been a nice host raise his glass at them.
"Your majesties! Glad for you to join me" He then brings his glass closer to his lips "Going 3 for 3 now. You are on a roll, I better think of something or the rest of the castle will begin to get jealous" He joke while lowering his shade glasses at them. "Please come in, and close the door behind you"
With Twilight being the last one to enter she close the door and immediately the room became quieter with nice slow music playing on a record player as the mares make their way to the sofa.
"I rather you don't" Celestia respond with a stern gaze "In fact, I will appreciate it if you don't ever expose yourself like you did today, you take some huge risk by turning into the bait, and I will not forgive you if you repeat it"
"Nor I" Luna seat next to Celestia opposite Mark.
"Make it 3" Twilight joins in and all of them cross their arms with stern glares at him.
"Come on ladies, like I say I needed to think differently now that things will get more intense, that is why I also had to test how much trust..."
"MARK!" They interrupt him making him flinch.
"Ok, ok, I get it, no more turning myself into live bait" He finally give in and raise his cup once more "Promise, now why don't we cheer for your victory, and catch on? Something tells me there is plenty for us to discuss" He takes a glance at Twilight who shy away a little at his and the princess's side glances at her.
"Agree, there is plenty for us to discuss" Celestia agree and raise her cup as well.
Hours later, once again the human managed to put not only the princesses but also the rest of the mares to sleep. Mark slowly makes his way throw the dark empty hallway before stumbling forward and having to grab a nearby pillar, to prevent himself from falling. Raising his head he stares at his reflection on a window and sees the eye morphing into the decagram before it banishes.
Thank god it's over! He sigh in both relief and exhaustion I would never be able to pull off the third-eye look.
Recovering some of his strength he stops hugging the pillar and opens a hidden passage where he hides before anyone could spot him.
I'm sorry princesses, I really feel like garbage from keeping you in that mental trance for so long. But I needed to master this infernal hex.
He recalls how he trick the princesses into sitting on the floor soon after climbing the stairs and kept them believing the lie before using a special song to put everyone in the room to sleep.
Better this way than having it keep giving me migraines and force me to listen to other thoughts without control
Resting on the floor the human couldn't move anymore as he clean the sweat off his soaked forehead
Just four more to go, and with what Twilight told me. I can send a message outside, looks like the next game will take place in the abandoned catacombs.
Unable to resist any longer the human lowers his head and falls asleep in the middle of the secret hallway.
The low growls and roars in the distance slowly manage to wake the human up until his eyes wide and he sat up straight with a cold sweat traveling down his spine. He dreaded this day would come, but despite his efforts, he knew that it was inevitable. The reason why the wall was placed in the castle in the first place. The hornet nest has awoken, and it seems to be pretty shaken up.
"I'm gonna find you human!" A desperate mare close to him made his blood run cold and immediately he ran away before anyone could discover his hideout. The mayor knew this is the biggest danger the princesses keep warning about, and even though he was trained and more than prepared the human couldn't help but to be scared at why might happen should his traps fail him.
Fortunately he still had the element of surprise, it was the middle of the night meaning he could use the shadows to move more freely and the castle still had plenty of traps at his disposal, yet time was running out and if he didn't reach his next hideout before any mare spot him, things could end very badly for the human.
Hours later after Celestia was done raising the sun.
Every pony in the ballroom slowly starts to groggily wake up while holding their head trying to nurse a small headache before looking around confused and tired from the events of last night.
"Princess Luna? What happened? Why does my body feel so numb? What exactly happened last night?" Twilight as she adjusts her vision and spots the princess of the night near her, and not too far away what seems to be Celestia approaching the two from a nearby balcony.
"I'm not so sure myself, dear Twilight. It appears that, once more, we underestimate our human guest and the extension of his traps which resulted us spending the evening on the floor."
Luna answered with some degree of frustration as she stood up, and noticed something white stuck on her mane. "And it appears we have a more pressing matter on our hands." She confesses with some dread as Twilight eyes finish adjusting and notices a noticeable change in the royal sisters.
"Princesses, your manes and furs!" She points in alarm as the end of their mane and tails colors began to change from an intense pink for Celestia and vibrant silver for princess Luna. Not only that, but in comparison to last night their fur seems to have became darker and lighter respectively.
"We know Twilight." Celestia replies in pity and helps her stand up. "And it seems like you have finally reached your divine maturity by the looks of things." She points at Twilight's flowing mane and when inspecting and grabbing a piece, Twilight discovers how the end of her mane was now bright purple and her fur was acquiring a more reddish hue.
"What is happening?" She let go of her mane and looked at the sister desperate for answer.
"Our heat is manifesting." Luna shivers briefly from the pain. "When an alicorn's heat reaches their peak, we slowly start to lose control over our magic and as a result we temporarily change colors."
"Lose control?! You mean we can't use...?" She can't finish that sentence as she groans and has to hold her stomach from the pain.
"No, magic will still be at our disposal." Celestia continued, seemingly still in control of her actions as her changes were the smallest of the two. At the moment she was giving them her back as she looked at the other mares in pity. "We would simply have our mind clouded beyond recognition." She shivers a little and with erected wings, she retains control by clenching her butt cheeks as hard as she could, suppressing a moan. "I can't believe I completely overlooked something so huge as our change." In anger she looked at them, "Let's go ladies, we only have 3 days left."
She starts walking down the stairs as the other princesses follow the determined Celestia.
"Sister, you are still planning to continue playing Mark's...?" Luna looks at her sibling in concern.
"...We are done with games!" Celestia interrupts, not looking at Luna nor Twilight as they exit the room. "You and I know exactly what will happen Lulu, this is Twilight's first divine heat, not to mention the first time we have a stallion at arm's reach in thousands of years, and Mark doesn't know of our change or what they entitle!" She lists with sorrow, "He can't see us like that."
Luna's eyes widen before she turns a more determined stance and follows Celestia. "You are right Tia, this is no longer a joking matter."
Twilight was about to ask why they changed their attitude but Celestia answered before she could say anything. "The peak of our heat only lasts for the last day of the week, but during that time we truly turn into unstoppable forces to calm our fire one way or another Twilight. Not to mention that due to inexperience and being forced to ride this giant of a dragon for the very first time, for you this change would be the hardest and most uncontrollable among us."
She spoke with authority and finality. "Now more than ever we CAN'T let you out of our sight, or worse let you get too close to the human. So once we find him, there would not be talks, explanation or permission. Just secure him and quarantine ourselves before that day arrives, are we clear."
Now more than scared, Twilight gulped and nodded, starting to get afraid of her hair and how fast she was changing colors.
A ring on their scroll startles the princesses briefly before realizing that Mark has sent the clue of his new location.
‘With the strongest face, with the highest price, I should be on the vault or adorning a crown, yet nobody wants me, not even a bride.’
The princesses look at one another confused and scared. "He couldn't mean that place...could he?"
"It wouldn't make any sense, especially since by his proposition that diamond cave has been repurpose as housing for the Thestral community. The place is still under construction and more importantly is no longer part of the castle." Luna reasoned.
"Well except a small section left to be converted into a new basement of sorts." Celestia mentions, "But that place is also under construction, and there is no way Mark could have installed too many traps in there, best case scenario he manage to place one or two cells...maybe a bear trap but that is all, compared to literally any other place in the castle for him to choose and be well defended. Why at the start of the most dangerous days of heat did he choose to be in the least defended spot in the castle?"
"Yeah it doesn't make any sense, even if you consider that place still is a bit like a mess...unless, oh no...the blind spot." Twilight cringed piecing together what he was plotting. Said comment didn't go unnoticed as the sisters slowly turned to Twilight in anger as she covered her mouth in realization.
"Twilight...what did you just say?" Celestia calmly asks, yet her tone informs her ex-student that she was giving her an order.
Half an hour later, at the construction site of the new basement of the castle.
Hiding behind two big crates full of collected red diamonds, Mark takes a moment to breathe and try to remain as still as possible as 3 lustful mares sniff the air, starting to revert to a more feral mode. Some kiss marks, scratches and loose shirt giving away how close the mares were starting to gain on him.
Slowly he grabs a small pebble near him when he notices the mares were about to find him. Tossing it into the distance, the sound grabs their attention and they rush into another hallway giving him a moment to breathe.
The abandoned mine, of all the places the blind spot could be located of course it had to be the abandoned mine.
Taking out his scroll he starts a call while keeping an eye on his surroundings.
"Hello?" A confused mare answered from the other side as he silently cheered in victory. "Who is this?"
"A reptilian patriot." Mark immediately answered and he could hear the mare gasp before she started to whisper.
"So grateful for your service, sir. How may I help you?" Understanding what was happening she too started to speak in codes.
"Just pondering about your day care services, are your rooms all painted green and yellow?"
"They are under construction, but should be ready by the end of the week. I can offer 1 red and 3 purple." There is a pause as Mark sighs in disappointment.
"How much is your kid capacity? Do you offer service for misbehaving kids?"
"We do, and our capacity can only allow two units."
"I see, thanks for your time. Have a nice day."
"You too, and sir...please stay safe." The mare said the last part with a lot more concern as they both end the call.
With a sigh, Mark leans against the crate and closes his eyes processing everything
Oh god, how things went so out of control? What I would give if all this mess just went...His line of thought was interrupted when he could hear and feel labor breathing on top of his head and when he looked up. The human was face to face with a unicorn mare with a bright pink long hair in a ponytail, light yellow fur and formal clothes staring at him with hearts of her eyes and a drool on her mouth.
Acting fast he dodged out of the way before she could tackle and stand up and back away from the crazy mare. "Wait, Ms. Guideline?" Mark's eyes widene when he recognized the mare in question who kept trying to tackle him to the ground.
"Hello Mr. Mayor, seems like I won. Where is my prize!" Mark grabs her hands and they start to struggle for dominance.
"For pete sake Ms. Guideline! You are the head of Human Resources! You ALWAYS complain how me and Drusilla act indecent with our harmless flirts! You are the mare that comes to mind when I think of morality and decency."
"Screw decency! Screw morals! I'm gonna screw you and I will do it NOW!" She yells and uses her magic to press their bodies together managing to pin him against the wall. "I always was jealous of that stupid bat of yours having all of you for herself! Always showing her ass, always rubbing those melon's of a breast of hers against you." She demonstrates by rubbing and dry humping his leg, "I always have dreams of being in her horseshoes. We are even the same bra size for Celestia sake! I bet you fuck her long and hard the second I finish scowling you, don't you, you pervert! Yeah I bet you even have a dog collar with her name on it. Well after I'm done I will be the one wearing it!" She smirks and snakes her hands under his pants, "Now shut up and buck me like the pig you are!" She forces a kiss and violently starts exploring his mouth while working on stripping herself with her other hand while starting to give him a hand job undoing her mane and then working on her button shirt.
Pushing her out Mark needs to take a deep breath while Guidelines insist on continueing the make up session until he takes out a flash bomb and smashes it on the ground next to them.
The light distracts the mare and forces her to cover her eyes as Mark makes his daring escape rushing inside a tunnel and hiding behind a crystal pillar and putting back on his pants as he could hear more mares approaching from the only entrance/exit in the room.
‘Great, what else could go wrong now?’ As to answer his question, a burning sensation started at his shoulder and when he moved his shirt he saw a new hex forming, this one having the shape of a chameleon from the front. ‘No, not now!’
He suppress a scream as he feels his entire skin on fire moments before merging with the crystal behind him. Not having the time to question it, he took the opportunity to hide and think of a way to turn things around in his favor.
As the days continues, Mark keeps having close calls with more mares, leaving his traps thin, as he had to sacrifice games and tricks in order to send the message, risking his stamina and his condition, zapping away all of his stamina and forcing him to endure a lot of pain from the hex which keeps manifesting each time he stopped to take a breath. To make matters worse, some mares were either running topples, with only a tong or standing in the middle of a room pleasuring themselves or setting a show to entice him to come out from his hideout. The reflection of the tunnels make it impossible for the human to ignore the glorious show, and as a consequence, making it even harder to run with half a mast to deal with.
To his relief no royal guard seemed to have figured out his clue yet, but he knew that wouldn't last either.
‘Ok, it is official, thinking I could keep the game going AND send the message was probably my dumbest idea ever. Oh Drusy will never let me live this one down if she finds out.’
Hearing a horn being charged, he didn't have the energy to dodge in time and before he realized his leg was frozen, making fall on the ground hard. While standing up, he felt something wet and passing his hand over, he found blood. His nose got broken from the fall. Before he could do anything about it. Somepony grabbed his shoulder and made him turn around, spraining his ankle in the process adding more to the list of pain he was experiencing.
Pinned to the floor the human's worst fear came to life when 5 royal guards, of 2 unicorns and 3 earth ponies were staring at him with predatory smiles as they began to strip themselves. He tries to use his last flash grenade but the unicorns immobilize his arms and force him to spread them in a T pose as they shake their heads.
"Enough running!" One of the earth ponies speaks up looming over him with only the upper half of her uniform and a drenched pussy winking like crazy at him as drops of her mare juice were falling into his face, "Now you will be playing OUR game!" The other mares giggle in anticipation as the earth pony start to lower herself. Mark tries to turn his head but the unicorns keep that pin too and forces him to open wide.
With no other choice left the human was about to resign to his fate when suddenly a maid tackled her to the ground. "HE’S MINE!"
Startled, the rest of the guards look around when more maids appear and charge at them as they literally start fighting over him.
Slowly sitting up the human can't believe his luck as he crawls backwards trying to make as little sound as possible.
Alpha brawls over the same stallion, can't believe they were real, but thank god they are.Chuckling he had to limp his way out of that chaos trying to ignore the pain on his leg. Looking back he didn't see where he was going until he hit something soft in front of him making him sit down.
"Mark!" Looking forward, the human felt relief when he realized he stumbled into Luna who along with Celestia and Twilight were looking at him completely mortified. Seeing her chest he understood he smeared some of his blood on her by accident. "By my stars, what happened to you?!" Luna questions like a concerned mother as they kneel around him.
Relieved, he can't help but laugh and bring them into a group hug ignoring how their bodies grew stiff and their wings stood to attention. "Thank god you still are in control! I was scared to death that you 3 have turned feral like the rest of the castle. Oh Luna I'm so sorry for your dress, I fell down and broke my nose, I will pay for it, don't worry."
There is a moment where no mare says anything until Twilight returns the hug and nuzzles the side of his face with Luna having the other half. "That is why we are here for silly."
"And think nothing of the blood dear Mark. What is important is that you are safe." She breathed deeply and the human could feel her shiver briefly, "And we finally found you, now relax as we fix those injuries." She instructed as Celestia charged her horn and began to treat his ankle and nose.
A purple shine near him catches his attention and looking down Mark notices something peculiar in Twilight mane. "Twilight, why is your mane bright purple?"
The sister's blood runs cold as Twilight tightens her hug and starts smirking, while preparing her horn, "It's because I'm so happy to see you," Breaking the hug a little she stares right at him with a relaxed smile, "you brighten my day."
Out of the blue Twilight kissed him full on the lips, compared to guidelines it was softer and calm, yet her experience with her tongue were on a league of her own as she explored the edges of his mouth and circle around moaning pleasantly, while teasing his own tongue to join her. Needless to say the Mayor's brain was going into overdrive as Twilight pushed the other two princesses apart and started to hug him even tighter as he could feel how she wasn't wearing a bra.
"Twilight no!" Luna yells and then there was a flash of light that blind everyone momentarily. Once everything cleared up Mark found himself in his room with a note in his desk.
No more games, we are beyond reason, whatever you do, whatever happens, do NOT open your door.
Celestia
The ominous message from Celestia was all the human needed as he decided to listen and plummet on his couch too tired to do anything else. Moving his shirt a bit he saw the hex having been mastered at long last making him sigh in relief and close his eyes to rest a bit.
It wasn't her, it was the heat! It wasn't her, it was the heat! He kept chanting trying to forget that calm yet passionate kiss.
In the meantime inside the abandoned mine, Twilight is left cold with her mouth hanging open as she slowly stands up "That was a mistake." She glares at Celestia who remains neutral.
"We told you we couldn't let you near him."
"And I told you I can't trust you either, while in heat. Even less now." Her hands start to glow "How do I know he is safe wherever you send him? For all I know you wanted him all for yourself...Tia."
Luna charges her hands, "You tossed our trust away the moment you kissed him Twilight. Just as we have feared."
"Your mane betrayed you Twilight, it appears you have reached your peak early." Celestia charged her hands as well, "Meaning we must stop you from everyone until you recover control, until then your mind is no longer yours."
She smirks and her fur acquires a red tone. "And what if it isn't? I'm starting to like this new me. Makes me see things in a new perspective, like how I would enjoy making you tell me, where, he, is...after I had my fun. . . with you." She tells in confidence as her eyes start to glow purple.
Celestia and Luna exchange glances before nodding and the 3 charged, causing the entire room to tremble in an intense show of lights.
Advancing through the abandoned mine, various equine figures wearing gas masks and gas cannons as well as been deck in black armor slowly made their way into Canterlot Castle, keeping an eye for any feral mare they encounter, ready to leave them unconscious by a potent blast of sleeping gas from their weapons.
Making good headway the group stops and hides behind some crates when they reach the middle of an intense fight between three princesses of Equestria, ready to charge their spells, sporting different colors and their clothes reduced to almost nothing but a barely held together underwear at this point.
"Give it up you two.” Twilight smirks while panting, "It's true you have years of experience under your belts, but let's face it, I'm still in my prime while you’re not only rusty from fighting, but your best days are-" She can't finish as Luna summons an astral hand that grabs Twilight's neck and raise her into the air.
"Oh no, you did NOT just call us old Twilight Sparkle! Heat induced or not, the only one old here is...!"
"CAREFUL sister." Celestia warns her, summoning various pikes from the floor inches away from her neck, "Not even family is allowed to discuss the age of a mare!" She retreats to the pikes and starts to get worried as she helps restrain Twilight. "Our mane is half way done too. Are you sure you are...?"
"I'm fine, Tia. And will be better once we deal with Twilight and secured Marky."
The nickname doesn't help ease the concern of Celestia as Twilight keeps laughing. "Come on ladies, why fight?" Using her magic Twilight reverses the gravity of the place trying to keep her opponents off balance, which works to a degree as the siblings lose their balance and Twilight manages to cast a mind reading spell on both, yet Luna refuses to let her go as Celestia immobilizes her body. "Why can’t we share him? Hmm?~ C’mon Lulu, I know you are considering it. Maybe even for a while, don't think I didn't notice how happy you were of him trying your food, and wanting to sit next to him in the meeting of mayors. Admit it! Deep inside, you love the idea of him living here!"
Luna’s grip lessens as she looks back in thought. "NO LUNA, fight it!"
Celestia yells at her, but Twilight tries harder to get into her head. "Oh don't get all high and mighty on your moral high ground Tia.~ I'm not stupid. I bet you are not too far behind either. After all, why are you so adamant of keeping him safe from everypony? Is that concern or just greed wanting to hug him all for yourself?~" She smirks and tilts her head "Come on! Where is he!? Let me see what you are hiding!?" She presses harder and manages to peek inside her mind finding a recent memory making her pause, "Wait, I did THAT?! But I...how?! I didn't...
The distraction gives Celestia an opening to blind her with a flash light spell canceling her gravity enchantment and bringing everyone to the ground as Celestia reinforces the restraint on Twilight. Meanwhile Luna is shaking and holding her head in pain. "Tia...what did you show her?"
Celestia was about to reply when a smoke grenade is tossed into the middle of the 3, releasing a thick gas that blinds them and makes all involved cough like crazy.
One of the masked ponies looked at that in horror before looking at the companion responsible who charged along 5 more members "NO you idiots! Not...!"
It was too late as the ponies enter the fog ready to incapacity the royals only to be met by a light show as blasts are shot everywhere "...yet."
Shit! Thinking fast he and the remaining 3 ponies made their escape as the princesses finish incapacitating their companions and take off their mask revealing very frighten stallions.
"Males?" Luna asks in shock as she holds both of a males hands into the air with her magic and sniff his neck. "In here?" She then looks at Twilight with a stern gaze. "Is this part of your plan Sparkles? A distraction to make your escape? Who else knows about this blind spot?"
"None, I thought I was the only one." Twilight replied, returning to some of her senses after sniffing another stallion and looking at him confused. "They must have figured it out by themselves." Her eyes wide, "The thieves! Those crimes were decoys! Were they!? You were planning to rob the castle during the heat all along?!"
One of the thieves only laughed nervously, "M-Maybe? I-I-I mean, the greatest heist in history! How could anyone resist that, am I right?" Their growls make him flinch and close his eyes as he speaks fast. "They told us everypony would be too distracted chasing the mayor everywhere to notice us! You weren't even supposed to be here! Why were you here?! Please...just make it quick!" They close their eyes and look away, resigning to their fates.
The princesses look at one another confused before looking at him for clues, "Who told you?" Celestia question with a stern tone.
"We didn't ask, it was just some rich nobles with a vendetta against the mayor, for what I gather." Their eyes wide in fear, "One of them told us that if we give them the cover to sneak inside the castle for their own agenda, we could rob the place blind. Become the greatest thieves in history and..." Immediately Celestia teleports away too fast for Luna and Twilight to say or do anything about it. As the thief could only blink and then slowly look at the other two slightly confused, "...Uh, not that I'm opposed, but shouldn't you be acting more feral by now?"
"Our anger is overlapping our lust, at the moment." Luna answered with a glare as she rips all of their pants. "But don't worry, you will see plenty of feral mares."
Understanding Twilight follows her example and they toss the group into the ground as low growls start to be heard around the stallions. "You should have stayed outside the bubble, now you will learn why the shield was placed in the first place. GUARDS! Toss this thieves into the dungeon and make sure they don't escape!" Luna bellows and immediately the stallions tremble when they hear laugher.
"~Yes ma'am~" A guard reply as mares appear left and right and soon surround the thieves who could only scream in terror as they launch at them.
Now more in control, the two princesses exit the basement and take some nearby curtains to cover themselves. Twilight looked particularly embarrassed at what happened moments early.
"So princess, about what happen-"
"We will not hold it against you Twilight." Luna reassures her with a calm smile looking at the nervous purple alicorn. "Heat can make us do crazy things and for an alicorn it can be even worse. Believe me, me and my sister knew from experience."
"Oh thank the stars!" She let go a huge breath of relief and took a moment to relax before looking at her again. "So this is what you meant by only lasting one day? This was like just one sample of the real issue?"
"Indeed." Luna nods, "It comes and goes like the sea, but when the final day arrives the heat becomes a raging storm and well...you now know what happens."
Twilight gulps and nods, "I will make sure to put as many locks on my door as possible then. But the good thing is that this can also erase our impulse briefly until the final day, right? Like, we have moments like this one of complete lucid thinking which is why we recover our senses when we saw the thieves." She nods in determination, but gets nervous when Luna doesn't reply. "...right? That is why I suddenly lost any interest in mating after I sniffed their chest despite being stallions, right?"
"I...I don't know Twilight!" Luna replied with some concern. "This is the first time this has happened to me too. I don't know why my heat is suddenly gone but right now my major concern is find all the nobles that sneak in here, and make sure our mutual friend is safe from them."
"Right! So we better go straight to where Tia hides Mark and keep him in our sight at all..."
Luna stopped and look at her with a deadpan look making Twilight stop her sentence and chuckle nervously "...or find the nobles immediately and put them in custody before they had a chance to harm the mayor."
"My thoughts exactly." Luna smiles and they resume their search. Neither noticing how almost all of the masked ponies were hidden behind pillars near them, carefully placing and releasing canisters of gas everywhere as well as using their weapons and blocking the windows in order to fill the castle with sleeping gas at an alarming fast rate.
Meanwhile at the secured guest room
Teleporting inside the room Celestia immediately looks around for the Mayor. "Mark! I know, I know, I shouldn't be here, and I wouldn't if it wasn't a life or death emergency. I swear I will lock myself out the second I'm sure you are safe and I..." She stops her ramblings when she spots him on a couch still soundly asleep with the same clothes of yesterday.
Concern she slowly made her way to him spotting the dry blood still on his face. "You have barely moved since I sent you here?" Smiling in content she cup his left cheek as he stir a little, "Of course you have, you poor thing, must have been beyond exhaustion from spending almost a whole day doing nothing but hiding and running around from mares going feral."
She flinches and steps back when his expression turns into one of pain when he moves in his sleep. The princesses remember the condition of his feet and his nose, making her smile and shush him as she resumes her petting.
"It's okay Mark, I'm here. Let me tend to those injuries." Standing up she goes to the bathroom only to return with a wet cloth and some bandages. Forgetting the reason for her arrival and making sure not to wake him up as she works on nursing him back to health.
Carefully removing his shoes and bandages his injured ankle Celestia used a bit of her magic to numb and mend the damage before working on his face, cleaning the blood and healing his nose, until he was good as new. Mark smiles at the comfort as the princess giggles and smiles in pride at her handy work putting the damp cloth away.
"There, now you can rest peacefully." Putting a blanket on top of his body she kisses his forehead, indulging in her more nurture side.
Staring at his sleeping frame the princess was about to move him into bed when a sniff of his scent froze her in place once her face was closer to his, and his open mouth reminded her of the raging fire brewing on her crotch.
He...he looks so peaceful and vulnerable. So cute, so...so enticing. Swallowing saliva as she was beyond thirsty, her eyes fixated on his lips. No, NO! I...I can't! But it has been too long since I got my dose. M-Maybe just one? Yes...I-I only need one last dose of vitamin M. Just one more and that is it! With her rainbow mane about to turn complete pink and her judgment getting cloudier and cloudier, the princess allows herself one last moment of weakness and closes the gap between their lips. Seeking a farewell kiss that she intended to milk as much as possible. It started slowly and she earlier exploited the circumstances, closing her eyes and trying to repeat the events on the day before the heat, only to open them and look up in confusion when she didn't feel any sparks whatsoever. No, that is not it, something is missing. Maybe if I...
Lowering his chin with a finger, she opens his mouth and slowly explores every inch of his mouth and tongue while moaning in approval for various minutes, making her get drowsy for some reason. And feel the room spinning. Laughing dopey, the princess finished the kiss and admired the human as her eyes started to play tricks on her, making her see a pink fog emanating from his mouth.
Close, but not the same and definitely not enough, just a little more I can feel it, this will get me there. She goes back to kissing him, swaying her hips from side to side, lasting more as the same thing keeps happening and increasing as she is having a hard time concentrating until she finishes the kiss and laughs, seemingly out of nowhere. "Oh mister mayor, what are those lips made of, that makes my head spin?" Completely high she tries to stand up and notices something shining on his neck and stomach. Moving his clothes a little she found the face of a sloth and the body of a poison frog on the side respectively, not only that but spots of bright red, blue and yellow colors seems to appear all over his body making him look like a hallucinogen frog causing her to laugh even more.
"Aww you have shiny tattoos now? How adorable." Falling forward she starts to play with his lips using her finger to silence him. "It ok, it ok, listen, listen." She gets closer to his face "Can I tell you a secret?" She gets closer to his ear, "I always wanted to get me a tiny little heart in a very naughty place." Laughing she asks him for silence one last time before standing up and tries to leave only for her to trip and fall on the ground deeply asleep and riding the high running on her system.
The loud thud finally causing a reaction on the human as he slowly started to wake up, before standing with a startle as he was forced to cough violently. Holding his throat the human fell to his knees and kept coughing until all the pink fog was gone from his system. While clearing his throat he grabbed a small mirror on a nearby table and saw how the sleep hex disappeared just like the others, as well as the neon spots on his arms announcing the end of the hallucinogen hex.
Breaking a sigh of relief, he closes his eyes and looks down at the ground. Thank god it is over, one hex is hell but two at the same time?! God I feel like I was about to suffocate with all that gas, and it felt like there was a colony of ants crawling under my skin. Shivering at the thought he slowly wakes up, trying to shake off the remaining numbness until his eyes landed on the end of a pink tail and following its trail he discovers the princess of Equestria with pink mane and tail laying on the ground with harbors breathing.
"CELESTIA!" In panic he limped his way toward her and gently moved her head "No, no, no! You weren't supposed to be here, oh god, you touch me didn't you? Why?! Just when I finally listen to your advice!" Opening her mouth and making sure she didn't swallow her own tongue he tries to help her out by finding some remains of the pink fog on her mouth. "Oh dear god you swallow the fog!?"
He wanted to reprimand her but knowing it wasn't the time, he went and placed her head on top of a pillow before administering CPR. "Oh god Celly, don't get this wrong, this isn't a kiss you better not attack me if you wake up." He warns her before starting compression on her chest and counting to five before giving her mouth to mouth. "Please, please, get everything out!"
His prayers are answered when Celestia coughs hard and bellows a long stream of pink gas from her mouth, making her look like a train pipe until it is all gone and she is there resting peacefully.
Sighing in relief once more. Mark lays against his couch and takes a moment to catch his breath. "You horny idiot, you almost scared me to death." With the danger passed, the mayor finally took notice of the condition of her clothes and looked away with a blush, realizing that only by sheer miracle her breast didn't pop out of what was left of her bra and a very thin line of clothes and panties kept her crotch hidden.
Swallowing a lot of saliva the mayor had to steal his nerves just to ensure he didn't peek at her.
For pit sake! She is unconscious and just got out of a near death experience! Shaking his head, he manage to calm down and look at his bed before looking at Celestia again and sighs.
‘Well, I might as well find another hideout and keep playing. Eh it might help calming everyone down. But first…’ He stood up and gently grabbed hold of the princess until he was carrying her bridal style. ‘...let’s get you to bed.’ Smiling at the peaceful frame of the princess he was about to go tuck her in when suddenly there is a flash of light behind him and when he turns around, a second one blinds him briefly until he sees a pony with a gas mask in the entrance holding up a camera. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Even if he couldn't see it, Mark new the pony was a stallion by the voice and was smirking under his mask as the picture is revealed and he waves it into the air showing Mark holding an unconscious Celestia in his hands. "The mayor, roofing the princess, during heat week so he could try to hide his crime? Talk about scandalous."
"Who are you?"
Rather than answer the stallion blast’em with a gas cannon that Mark fails to notices until it was too late as he start to lose his strength and kneel doing what he can not to drop Celestia as his conscious started to fade. The stallion made his way toward him. "I'm the stud that will make your life a living hell." He starts to take another picture. "Smile for the camera Mr. Mayor, there is plenty of dirt to collect."
The last thing Mark remembers was the stallion laughing as he kept taking pictures until he lost consciousness.
With a startle, Mark woke up from the sensation of freezing cold water that someone just splashed on his expose chest as he soon realized he was tied to a chair in nothing but his black boxers as 3 masked ponies, of each equine tribe were in front of him, one of his captors was holding an now empty bucket of water, as all of them laugh at his reaction.
"Wake up primate! You don't want to miss this." The pegasus pony with the bucket orders him as he tosses the item away.
Catching his breath he looked around the place with a critical eye. Finding only darkness and the shapes of what he could only assume were iron bars and rocked walls, he recognized their pattern as the castle dungeon.
‘So I'm still in the castle, and by the lack of growls and feral mares desperately trying to break inside means they manage to incapacitate the place in a swift move. Can't know for sure how long it has been but they seem competent enough, better be careful.’ Ending his analysis, he looks back at his kidnapers.
"Who are you? And what do you want?" Mark asks with neutrality, standing straight and looking directly into the eyes of the closest pony.
"What is the matter mister mayor?" The pegasus asks, removing his mask showing a light gray stallion with dark blue hair and a scar in the shape of a lighting bolt under his left milky eye. "Don't you recognize me?"
"Thunder Bets." He replied without skipping a beat and a small scowl, "The most infamous bet dealer of Cloudsdale. Still sore I demand your arrest after you were caught dealing with illegal bets on minor racers?"
His smirk vanishes and he adopts a more angry scowl, "That law was bull crap and you know it! Everyday snot cover brats compete to see which one will be the next Wonderbolt. What’s so wrong about betting which colt or filly will win a race?! We do it all the time with the ACTUAL Wonderbolts!" He bellows his argument.
"Say whatever you want Bets, allow gambling and bets into kid competitions, just rob them of the chance of having fun and worse, awake a very ugly monster in every parent, wanting only to win." He defends maintaining his cool as he admires the others.
"Let me guess, you two are also low live scums throwing a tantrum because I say no?"
"Oh I'm gonna enjoy this so much." The earth pony takes off his mask revealing a cream yellow fur and brown mane as he clenches his fist, making the human realize he was the bulkiest of the 3.
"You should have looked the other way, simian." The unicorn tells him showing a light red fur and white mane face with a scar on his left cheek. "You might have lived longer if you had."
"Ah yes, Bad Crow and Yellow Devil. The most wanted merchant on forbidding and dangerous spells and cursed items in the black market," glares at the unicorn before turning to the earth pony, "And the king of the scums cartel that have been trying to sneak their filth into Canterlot for years, the two mayors pains in my ass. My mistake then, low life at least I can pity, dirt bags like you are as worthy as a bag of manure." Yellow Devil deck him full on the face for the comment with such force he spit some blood.
Recovering, he licks his lower lip before staring at his captors again. "I'm sorry, did I hit a nerve?" Devil was about to punch him again until a light blue aura grab his fist in mid air.
"Hold on!" Looking back the ponies saw someone descending and Mark’s eyes widened slowly before turning into a scowl as he saw Silver Tongue dressed in his finest blue stripe suit casually descending the stairs as he smirked at Mark. "There will be time for games later. For now..." He kept advancing until he was face to face with Mark while keeping his hands behind his back and releasing Devil from his hold "...I want him fully aware of what is going to happen. Hello Mr. Mayor."
"Silver Tongue, or should I say your real name and call you Snake Eye Bill?" Mark replies with venom on his voice as he kept glaring at the smirking unicorn who only raised an eyebrow.
"Funny you don't seem to be all that surprise to see me."
"I had my doubts since the start. A Celestia´s graduate as narcissistic and manipulative as you wouldn't die that easily. But even so I had hoped you truly changed, instead of going to these extremes just to hurt me. Faking your death, slander my name, torching my home, kidnapping my friend. I gave an eulogy on your name for pete sake!"
"And it keeps getting funnier each time I hear it!" He laughs alongside his goons.
"All of this? All this convoluted plan, just to make me look bad? Pathetic."
Silver stopped laughing immediately and grab his face with one hand before yanking it forward, "Don't get ahead of yourself ape, I'm gonna do a lot more than just slander your name." He let go of his face, "And come on Mayor, aren't you even a little bit happy that I'm not dead after all?" He rolls his eyes and smirks into the air, "That more than I can say about your precious little pet secretary."
"Drusy!" His eyes widen in horror as he starts to tremble in his chair. "What did you do to her!? You bastard!"
They all laugh at his response rather than answer until Yellow replies, "Aww, the primate miss his pet bat? Ye bet that hit a nerve."
"Let's just say, she took a dive with her wings clipped." Crow replied with a malevolent smirk, freezing the mayor as he slowly looked down.
"No….." He whispers with a trembling voice.
"Awww, c’mon on mayor," Thunder grabbed his hair and forced him to look up, "it's too soon to break into tears, we are just getting started." He then showed him a series of photos that shocked him for a second time. "Do you like them? I dabble in photography as a hobby and always try to find the right angle, so I think I manage to capture your good side, but don't let that stop you, tell me if you have any notes.''
In horror Mark could see not only the picture he took of him holding Celestia, but also a series of compromising photos of him from the back dropping a pill in a drink before Twilight could grab it. He is holding Twilight bra with his teeth while she looks defenseless under him, as it looks like it was choking Luna, and the worse, one of him grabbing Celestia hair and forcing her mouth open, all of them minus the first one showing him almost naked.
"What have you done? The princesses..."
"Knocked out cold, thanks to our special friend." Silver replied showing the same weapon that rendered him unconscious, "Do you like it? It has a special formula acquired by Mr. Crow. Design to put an Ursa Major to sleep. Not even those bitches could resist a full frontal attack of this."
"Bill, you have gone too far, incapacitating them is beyond cowardess, but this?! Stripping them, manufacturing these poses as we were puppets?! Leaving them defenseless?! Dear god the sky must be chaotic right now! This...this is beyond repulsive! This is down right assault!"
"It sure is, and all the blame is gonna fall on you." He poke his nose as his grunts laugh.
"What?"
"Since you are about to die anyway, I suppose I could share the rest of my plan." He stood back as Yellow Devil put on two brass knuckles while the others started to leave the cell. "Like I said, this is more than mere revenge monkey, oh no. I'm gonna make an example of what happens to those that oppose me. Including that albino hag and her peers that dared remove me from office and toss me into this cell to rot. Canterlot was perfect the way it was before you showed up and ruined EVERYTHING! Everypony knew their place and respected the hierarchy of class, but nooooo, you had to complain and keep demanding nonsense!"
"This is between you and me Bill! Leave the princesses alone!"
"And lose my chance at indulging myself?" He laughed and shook his head. "Not gonna happen. That bitch fucked with me and made me a laughing stock! This time I return the favor."
Mark was at a loss of words by that revelation as he took out a remote and turned on 3 screens at the side of the prison showing the princess all tied up and naked. Luna sitting in the throne, Twilight hanging by a rope in the middle of the royal library and Celestia laying on her own bed tied by her ankles and wrist against the polls, all of them seemly wearing a strange golden necklace with a green emerald on them.
"The gas wasn't the only thing we brought, do you like that little trinket we placed on them? Hmm?" He points at say jewelry, "It makes the victim remember events as we want too."
Yellow grabs him by the hair once again and shakes his head a little, "And while they go have some fun with the royals I'm gonna take my time beating the life out of you with my own two hands, all while you hear them bein’ raped, convince that it was YOU who decided to mount them like a wild animal. With plenty of evidence to back that claim."
"You are gonna be remembered as the mindless beast I always knew you were, and once everything is over, since I can't run for mayor anymore, thanks to you and that bitch. I will find a fitting replacement. A unicorn that knows the true values of Canterlot that would release everyone from your brainwash and put back things like they used to be.” Bill tells with a scowl before closing the cell.
"Bill." Without blinking Mark could only stare at him as Yellow kept holding his head up "When I get out of here...I'm gonna make you swallow your own genitals." He ominously promises with a calm voice unsettling the earth pony a little.
The unicorn didn't seem unfazed whatsoever as he only laughed. "Fitting for that to be your last words. Just a bunch of nonsense and empty promises. Goodbye Mayor, enjoy the show. It will be the last thing you do." And with that he retires with the other two leaving the mayor alone with Yellow Devil who cracks his knuckles.
"Oh I know I should wait until the show starts but well..." He readies his fist into the air, "...I never was the patient type." He deliver a strong jab at the side of his face making him spit blood before hitting his other side with the other arm and then start a slow flow of a punch after punch slowly soaking his fist in the mayor's blood as he laughs. "Come on, let's hear some screams too! Try to call for help. The entire castle is asleep, nopony is gonna...WHAT THE...?!" The earth pony stops when the body of the mayor starts to smoke and soon his injuries start to heal at a decent pace, even going as far as regrowing lost teeth and detaching the broken ones for new ones.
Spitting blood and teeth, Mark looks up at his attacker. "Figures a block head like you never opens a history book. The dome surrounding the castle is more than a wall dumbass! There is a series of astral lawyers and enchantments forming the bubble, including an advanced and complex healing spell. Order and casted by Celestia herself after the tragic alpha brawl of the 86 B.N." He laughs briefly. "You can punch all you want. I will not die."
Devil clench his fist in anger before smiling again. "Good, then that means I get to enjoy this even more! Let's see your gracious bubble heal you after I rip your head off!"
"It will you moron, unless it is instantaneous, all wounds will..." Devil doesn't let him finish as he resumes his beatdown. The room is filled with the sounds of his bones starting to crack and the wet hits of Devils blows as the Mayor could only close his eyes trying to ignore the pain, escaping into his mind, remembering something a friend of his past told him once.
Standing in a prestigious throne room with pools at the left and right side of the room. Mark stares at a massive cobra-like creature sitting in front of him. "Heard you manage to pass the test." The cobra tells with an imposing, booming yet calm and serene female tone.
"I did your highness." A younger Mark replies beaming with pride and pointing at his chest. "Told you I could do it, you are seeing a hex master right here."
The room shake by her own laughter as she slowly descend toward him, "Oh child, seeing your adorable naivety always makes me laugh and warms my heart, true I can no longer consider you unfit to wield our gift." She demonstrate lifting her torso and show a huge arrange of all types of hexes shining in the rainbow color as she serpents around him."You certainly have earned my respect, my intrigue and my forgiveness from doubting you. An aspiring hex practitioner of the hex art right before my eyes. But a hex master?" She stops and points up for dramatics. "That is yet to be obtain."
"Then that would be my next step, come on Queen Vibra, put me to the test I'm ready!"
She laughed more calmly this time and lowered her head. "Patience little child, the time for that will come once the final candle burns down." She pokes his chest in a playful manner, "But I can tell you this."
Returning to reality, with a clenching fist, Mark’s skin slowly starts to turn white as black curve lines resembling the roots or branches of a tree on his arms start to appear and spread around him, in his mind the memory of queen Vibra kept talking. "The moment, your final hex manifests..."Opening his now complete blue eyes, Mark breaks the ropes bounding his wrist and catches the fist of Demon with his palm.
The stallion can only have a second of shock before Mark squish his fist so hard that he not only manage to bend and break the brass knuckles, it impale the steel into the pony flesh, crushing four of his fingers and as a result, causing him indescribable pain and agony as he is forced to kneel while holding his wrist. "...I would pray for your enemies. For they have no idea the type of dragon they would be poking if provoked."
‘Ah come on Queen Vibra, you know me. Few things could make me angry. I don't think there is anything that could get me THAT angry.’
"What was that you said earlier? Oh yeah..." Smirking Mark brings Devil up close to his face "I'm gonna enjoy this." Lifting his fist Mark punches him in the chest so hard that the pony is sent flying backwards destroying the jail cell and breaking the wall in front of them landing in a pile of rubber. The rumble is heard throughout the castle as Silver, Crow and Thunder look back at the dungeon and smirk.
"I knew Devil couldn't wait, we better hurry, or he might kill him before we had a chance to give him a show." Thunder comments
"Come on gentle stallions, why the rush?" Silver mentions with a calm smile, "Trust me, the dome would make sure we had plenty of time, as long as it active that ape would be more than a little hard to kill. We can take things nice and slow. Let’s give poor Devil a chance to have some fun."
The others smirk with malice and agree. "You’re right, and besides, I have been meaning to 'borrow' some books from the royal library for a while. Bet I can fetch a nice deal for one of Celestia's forbidden tomes." Bad Crow tells in excitement.
"Suit yourself, I gonna take a peek at the royal vault and see if they have a crown and maybe a scepter that I could wear while I force that Lunar witch to lick my balls" Thunder comments. "I always have been a sucker for role play and always wanted to get the, "royal treatment". He laughs at his own joke before getting serious, "But don't you think this means you’re off the hook either Snake." All of the sudden Bill is lifted into the air by crow as Thunder place a dagger against his neck, "You still owns us a lot of money."
"Please, please gentle stallions, no reason for that." He slowly push the dagger away, "I'm more than aware how I’m in debt with all of you, that is why I wanted to propose something of equal value."
The exchange glances before letting him go. "We are listening." Crow and Thunder cross their arms awaiting for his idea as he cleans himself up and stands up.
"The civil archives, the room where all crimes in all of Equestria are stored, I know where all of that is register and catalog. Evidence collected and ready to be used in court against you if you by chance were to get caught. All of that burns to ashes." He smirks at them as they consider it "Everything any judge would need to build any sort of case against you, I get rid of that and you can start with a clean slate. Any court would have no choice but release you by lack of evidence. What do you say? Enough to clear my debt?"
They glare at him for a couple of moments before resuming their march to their respective objectives. "It will do...for now." Thunder finally speaks.
"As long as you deliver Snake, double cross, fail, or try to run and we will go after your legs." Crow warns him as they both leave. The crook only gulped knowing both of them had the means to achieve just that. Slightly scared he sped his march into the archives fully intent on destroying all the evidence concerning them.
The healing spell gets to work in Yellow Devil re-adjusting his bones and putting his arm back into place yet he screams in pain and holds his hand when he notices the brace knuckles have now merged into his flesh causing him more pain and freezing his hand into a fist.
"See?" Glaring Devil watches as the human calmly walks out of the cell taking out a piece of metal with it. "Now THAT is how you exploit being on a healing dome. But don't worry, I will gladly take that metal out."
"You freak of nature, so the rumors were true then. You really are unnaturally strong despite being so small."
"Oh I'm more than that, dirt bag." He hit one of his fists into his open palm with such force it creates a small wave of sound, "As you and the rest of your friends would soon learn." His hair turns gray and a white astral energy surrounds all of his body as the curve lines in his arms turn a neon green. "Don't mess with the mayor."
After recovering from the initial shock and walk out of the wall Mark made out of his body, Yellow Devil recovers some control and confidence remembering something for this eventuality. "Yeah, you’re talking as if you already won," He smirks and takes out a red pill from his pocket. "You are not the only one with tricks ape!" Swallowing the pill Demons body starts to shake and increase in side as his fur turns red and his eyes get bloodshot taking the mayor off guard, as his clothes start to rip until he was left with only ripped shorts.
"So that is where the demon in your nickname came from."
"That is right, simian. What you call 'filth' I call untapped potential! A glorious drug that can erase any creature's limiter capable of helping even the puniest of ponies become a force of nature! Something that if used could let you tame even a dragon!" He speaks with a distorted voice as he rushes at him. "How could you let an opportunity like this slip your fingers?! So what if there is a chance your organs may explode as a side effect of constant use?!" Dodging the attack Mark almost loses his balance and barely dodges another hit when his fist manages to crack both the floor and wall of the dungeon.
He keeps backing away as Devil tries to connect another attack, "That only means they were weak to begin with. Only the strongest should deserve power, if they don't have the resistance to hold it, then they don't deserve it in the first place. If anything I were only trimming the herd, you should be begging me to introduce this to the street and..." Mark jumps to the side and trap his arm with some near by chains, "Stupid monkey, nothing you do will help you, AAHHHH!!" Entering into another cell Mark rips off a chain and jumps around grabbing his arm and using a piece of the cell and taking out the piece of the brass knuckle from his hand as he screams in pain.
Recovered, Devil grab Mark torso and ram him into the ceiling before hitting him against the walls and floor like a ragdoll repeatedly as his bones cracked and broke, accompanied by wet splats of his muscles and blood splattering everywhere, some of the blood reaching Devil’s eyes, which causes him discomfort and makes him toss the human forward, where he creates a pool of blood while the spell works overtime to heal him completely. All the while Devil tries to clean his face from the blood.
"Puny human, is this the best you can do?" Smiling and with his vision restored, he looks at his opponent and enjoys how pitiful he looked.
Panting and spitting some blood Mark slowly stands up glaring daggers at Yellow Devil. "My mistake, I didn't want to cause too much damage to the castle." Using the chain as a whip he spun it a couple of times before launching forward, grabbing his right left leg and pulling, while jumping at the same time, catching the stallion by surprise.
Off balance and with his arms spread out of impulse the mayor was able to land a clean hit on the ponys left side of his face, sending him flying until the chain tensed up. Using the momentum Mark spins the earth pony around before ramming him against a wall which cracks his back.
Before landing Mark rushes and hits Devil under his chin as he keeps running, pressing his body against the wall destroying a good chunk of it and leaving a clean trail of fur, blood and muscles behind, until finally the mayor launches his victim forward into the air until he hits the end of the hallway, with a red hot back in the process of healing, "Seem like there is no helping it. But considering the circumstances, their majesties would take it easy on me."
Cracking his knuckles and neck the mayor let the stallion to stand up and spit some blood too while nursing and re-adjusting his chin, no longer caring for the pain as adrenaline and rage was filling him now. "Yeah, I will grant you this primate, you might be strong, but compared to my drug, you might as well be a very strong ant. Now let me show you what real power looks like!" He launched again but Mark was prepared this time and he rushed forward as well.
"No Devil! Let me hammer this into that thick skull of yours, once and for all!" Dodging a swipe Mark gives an upper cut at his right lumbar sternson breaking it and implanting his fist into his body as his left ribs are destroyed, "Take that infernal drug of yours…"
Letting go and jumping back Devil almost falls as he coughs blood but Mark wasn't done yet as he keeps talking while breaking his bones, "And get...out...of...my...home!" He breaks his scapula, the right side of his face, the lower half of his sternum which lift him into the air and finally with two fingers he turns his hips and chest before delivering a frontal hit with all his powers with only his two fingers that barely touch the stallion.
Time seems to slow down as the replica travel through the pony's body, while he could hear all of his ribs and most of his bones were turning to dust, as the ground underneath Mark flows backward and seems to have turn to water, before time speed up and he is launched like a bullet out of the dungeon and blowing holes at the walls from there to the main entrance where he kept flying now converted into a bloody pulp until finally he hits the force field that shakes a little and leave a blood imprint of his body as his eyes roll back. Barely alive the dome gets too work as the stallion is left on the floor twitching occasionally as some mares that manage to dodge the gas or are just now waking up notices the pony and slowly start to swarm him.
Standing in the now huge crater he forms and blows air from his nostrils, Mark sees all of that happen before turning around and heading up the stairs, focusing on finding the rest of the intruders, when he discovers the scroll of Demon laying on the ground alongside the rest of his ripped clothes. Getting an idea, he rushed to the cell he was in and activating the wireless function he transferred the security images into the scroll so he could see them before checking if the phone could make any calls, getting surprised when he gets a signal. Not wanting to waste his good luck he uses it to contact someone from the outside.
"Hello?" The same mare from before answered.
"Through the abandoned mine there is a blind spot that can reach the castle. There is a rat infestation at the moment. I need a vacuum cleaner with premium guarantee suction." He didn't waste time in talking in codes.
"It will be there in ten minutes, sir."
"Perfect, you can begin in Celestia’s chamber, I will be there to receive you."
He could hear a growl from the other line, "Understood sir."
Cutting the call he rushes to the upper floors heading to the library which at the moment was the closest to his location, only to find the road covered in a deep layer of fog and a floor litter with unconscious mares everywhere. The human backs away before the gas could reach him and return to the entrance to the dungeon, taking notes on how he still was on only his boxes.
Fuck! So they didn't just use that junk on the princesses, no wonder I have barely seen any growling mares, and with how I'm dressed now, they might as well be sleepy hungry lioness ready to pounce on the first male they see. But I can't let them do that either, any second now they could swallow their tongues. I need to do something. While thinking of a solution, the heat of a nearby torch caught his attention and made him smile. And I may know exactly what. Opening a fake wall, the mayor enters a secret route in order to avoid the fog and resume his mission.
Moments later, at the royal library
Crow was picking books left and right, and putting them on a sack as he laughed in outer glee. "First edition, only in case of emergency, introduction to the dark arts, for the princesses eyes only!" He kept listing each book he was collecting like a kid in a candy store. "I knew it! This place was a gold mine! Just thinking about how much money only one of these books is gonna fetch me is giving me a raging boner!"
He stops and slowly turns to look at the incapacitated Twilight still hanging in the middle of the room. "And thank goodness I have the perfect cum dump to spend it on.~" Using his magic he brought her down to the ground and started to massage one of her breasts until her nipples got erect, "Shame I had to kept the mask on. But oh well, we can't run the risk of you walking up and finding the truth, can't we?~"
He laughs while pressing his face against her, "Still, oh how I wish I could be able to take off my mask." His rant suddenly is cut short when he heard the sound of the fire alarm going off before the sprinklers on the library come to life and bathed the room in a special foam substance design to put out any fire without damaging the books of parchment, additional to remove all the gas he flooded the place.
As a result his blood ran cold when he saw how the princess of friendship was slowly starting to wake up. In a panic he rushed toward her and blasted her with more sleeping gas before she could recover her senses, letting go a huge sigh of relief once she was knocked out cold once again.
"Aww, what the matter, Crow?"
The unicorn was startled and went stiff when he started to hear the voice of Mark echoing through the walls despite him not being anywhere in sight. "Wasn't this what you wanted? An excuse to get rid of the mask." Pointing his weapon everywhere the unicorn start to get nervous when he followed a shadow moving from one side to another, too fast for him to have a clear shot as Mark laughed at him, "Careful what you wish for?"
"Y-You?! How did you escape primate?! By now Yellow Devil should have turned you into a bloody pulp!" Crow calls as he advances through the room, his horn charged and ready to be used.
"Awww, cute, another skeptical. And here I was thinking you might have heard the rumor too." Mark drops Yellow’s mask at Crow’s hooves making him pause and look in shock.
"You beat him? So the stories..."
"...were alllllll true." Mark whisper behind him, causing Crow to yell in terror and try to blast him with the gas, but the mayor reacted faster and holding the side of it, he keep it in place and crushed it while his other hand grabbed the unicorns face and lift him in the air as he started to break his mask.
The pressure of the gas turns to be too much and the container explodes sending both of them flying. Mark holding his breath in an attempt not to inhale while Crow’s mask gives him a bit of protection which leaves him startled and slightly drowsy as he coughs and removes the damage mask. "You are dead primate!" He swears using his magic to clear the gas surrounding him and take hold of it.
"Maybe you were stronger than that muscle head, but as long as I have my horn and I keep my distance there is nothing you can do against me!" He spots the human rising from some bookshelf and launches the cloud at him as he jumps out of the way, barely dodging the attack.
"Not so cunning now are we?" Crow recovered his confidence and hid himself inside a swirling mist, "Do you see it human!? How does it feel to be that strong and yet find out your opponent is unstoppable?!"
Mark tries to clear the fog with a strong clap that moves around some books yet the cloud remains in place.
"Ya, I'm in control of this gas ape, that is not gonna work. But here, have some dance partners." The silhouette of the unicorn appears tossing two golden bracelets out of the cloud that catch on fire and morph until they resemble scrawny looking mares with overly exaggerated and sharp fingers growling at him. "One of my finest products."
Launching at him Mark tries to hit them only for his arm to face throw and burn for its efforts into one creature allowing one to scratch and burn his stomach while the other hit his back. In pain the human backs away as the monsters give chase.
"I call it burn sticks, add some blood and they would slowly copy the appearance of the pony you use. And if its a mare going thru heat, they can even copy the behavior and tracking skills of one."
In shock, Mark saw how they seemed to be smelling the air and seemed to be targeting the only piece of cloth he had left. Dodging more slashes the human needs to act fast and could only put objects in between to gain time, as their bodies slowly start to resemble a familiar looking princess.
"You used Twilight blood!?" He asked Crow, completely livid as he only could laugh.
"Thought you might want to have some fun too. Come on monkey give me a show, while I tend to your precious princess." The human realized then that Crow was right on top of Twilight and seems to be groping her frame and l licking her face, "Do me a favor would you? When they catch you, tell me how it feels to have your dick burned from the inside."
Jumping and tossing a series of bookshelves, Mark managed to crush the dummies, but he could see the flames still present and starting to reform at a fast pace.
Having a moment to breathe Mark watches his hands and closes his eyes, trying to relax and focus. Soon the lines reshape themselves once more to resemble fire and change color from green to purple.
Feeling the heat, the mayor opened his eyes feeling more tired than usual and with the palm of his hands ignited. At that moment the dummies finish rearming themselves and toss a desk at him. Mark tries to catch it only to be hit & tossed to the floor before the furniture ignites and turned to dust.
‘So it's either fire or strength, knew there was a catch to this.’ A strong burn on his leg reminded him of his predicament and before the Twilight clones could roast him, the human propelled himself backward before heading to one of the bookshelves, getting an idea. Once the dummies were in reach he spun around and grabbed hold of their bracelets before sucking all their magic. Both screech loudly and slash his exposed face and torso rapidly trying to get free but it was too late as they were reduced to jewelry leaving the human steaming and shaking from the pain, as he tossed the bracelets away from him.
Luckily Crow was too preoccupied with Twilight, to notice the changes in the mayor and only pay attention when he heard a loud noise followed by the growls of the dummies chasing the human.
Laughing he shakes his head, "Go ahead, primate! Run, and better be fast if you wish to keep your dick! Oh wait, you won’t will have it regardless. By the stars would that be quite the burn I imagine."
Having gotten behind the unicorn, the human admired his hands before placing them together and morphing the flame until it resembled a bow and arrow which he pointed at the merchant while closing one eye. Crow was still oblivious to what was happening.
"Don't try to play tough Mr. Mayor, come on! I bet the burn is agonizing, let's hear some screams!"
"Gladly!" Mark yells and fires an arrow that pierces the fog hitting the unicorn in the shoulder. Startled Crow looks down before Mark yanks him backwards, grabbing his face in mid air and sucking all his magic as fast as he could, ending the spell keeping the cloud going.
The shock and heat is enough to make the unicorn scream in pain and fear thrashing everywhere while trying to remove his hand while the human pins him on the ground, frying him alive as the smell of burn flesh and hair start to be invade the place. It wasn't until his energy was completely drained and he remains motionless, yet still alive that Mark let go, leaving a solid hand imprint burn on the middle of his face that was slowly healing.
Feeling his magic in his system the human stops draining and grabs his shirt to lift him into the air, Crow having almost no energy to fight and only capable of weakly lifting a hand. "Be thankful I didn't drain all your magic." Ripping his shirt Mark drops the merchant before going toward Twilight, burns the rope, and turn off his flames to catch her in the air, bridal style.
As careful as he could not to wake her up he grab and yank the necklace, trying to control the fire not to hurt her until it was weak enough to break, a piece of say metal melting on his hands as he shake it off like it was water, leaving only the crystal. Using the piece of cloth from Crown, he tries to cover her as best as he could before marching away, working overtime not to remember or think about the small cute mole near her right nipple. The princess unconsciously smiling and nuzzling her face against his chest, getting comfortable in the embrace and moving her tail back and forward in excitement, for some reason. Things the human decided to ignore due to the current predicament.
"What...are...you?" Crow manages to ask, with harbores breathing, while trying to process what just happened, and why there were glowing lines in the humans body.
Stopping the human looked at him over his shoulders, "I'm the mayor of Canterlot, and you would be wise to remember this. When I say I had zero tolerance for organized crime..." He shoot the ceiling in the hallway outside, which makes the sprinklers there go off "...I MEAN it!"
Crow’s blood freezes as Mark slowly smiles and exits the room through a secret entrance, just in time for feral female growls to be heard, following my shining eyes appearing at the front door.
The unicorn at that moment realized he wasn't wearing a shirt, and he was still too weak to use his legs or cast any spell, plus all his magic objects and tools were too far away from him.
"L-L-Ladies? N-nice ladies." With no other option he can only crawl backward as guards start to lick their lips and undress while approaching him, "N-Now, now ladies, l-lets talk about this. Let's make a deal, t-the human! The mayor! He went that way!" He tried to desperately bargain but it was to no use.
"O-Ok, ok, what about if I give you a small kiss and use my hands. I cannot do anything else my body is too tired, so please, if you could just give me a moment to breathe… n-n-no. At least please be gentle!"
They ignore him and just launch at him like a pack of famish wolf on an injured antelope.
In the meantime Mark reached the secret panic room and placed Twilight to safety as he let go a sigh of relief before standing up and exit the room before she could awake and see him.
Once he found all the "props" he would ever need, plus filling his pockets with as many bits as possible, Thunder Bets makes his way toward the throne room, with an eager malicious smirk when suddenly, a series of loud tremors followed by a big explosion caught him off guard and almost made him fall while some bits dropped to the floor.
Following the sound, he looks through a window in time to see a bloody Mark at the edge of the dome as the bloody figure slides down toward a group of hungry mares.
He did it, that knucklehead actually turned that simian into a literal bloody pulp! He placed his hands against the glass to take a closer look at the mayor completely livid on how Devil’s beating went out of hand.
That oversize, bird brain, IDIOT! What is the point of putting screens on that cell if you are just gonna throw that ape through...the...window? His anger slowly died down, when he discovered how the body was at least 5 times the size of the mayor, it was way bulkier and had some sparks of yellow under all that blood.
With a cold chill running through his spine the pegasus slowly backs away from the window as he discovers his companion being mauled by a pack of hungry mares as his fur gets more pale.
The dungeon is at least five floors underground! And he still had enough power to ram and make a ripple into the dome! Is he really that ridiculously strong...?
Gulping in fear the pegasus forgot his treasure and took flight as fast as his wings could carry him. As he made a mad dash toward the throne room while taking out his scroll and calling his companions.
Trying to reach Crow first, he immediately receives voicemail. Damn it Crow! Worse time you choose to put your scroll in silence! Have it your way, it's your funeral. He tries to call his minions only to receive interference, confusing the pegasus and getting him even more scared; and finally, he calls Snake which, to his fortune, was able to pick up.
"I know Thunder, I saw it too." Silver tells, oddly calm about it.
"Then you know we need to escape Snake! If that human was able to do that to Devil..."
"...We will be fine." He interrupted. "As long as we keep our distance. He is only one primate and we still have our weapons, plenty of unicorn minions and the princesses as hostages. The only thing he had left was the element of surprise and he blew it. What could he do now?"
As to answer his question an alarm went off, followed by the sprinkle system which sprayed water everywhere killing the gas and starting to awaken the mares who Thunder now realized were spread all over him.
His blood ran cold as he took to the air before anyone could see him and hide behind a banner, "SNAKE!" He harshly whispers, hearing the same alarm on the scroll.
"I know, I know! Just go to the throne room and lock yourself there. We can't lose our hostages if we wish to run away!" Before the pegasus could reply Snake cut the call and with no other option he followed his advice and made a mad dash through the room before any mare could spot him. Using everything he could find to barricade the place. To his luck the water hadn't reached that room and as such he had a thick fog where to hide which he reinforced spreading more canisters everywhere.
Meanwhile Snake doesn't waste time in reaping more gas to the mares near him and slowly march toward Celestia’s chambers.
‘For the sprinkles to go off in multiple places, he must have found the main valve and turned specific areas on. Clever boy, awakening only part of the castle so as to not overwhelm yourself. Ingenious but ultimately pointless.’
He smirks maliciously, as he placed a hand where one of his eyes used to be. ‘Those bastards laughed at me when I told them how he took my eye with one single punch, so I was hoping that ape and Devil would have killed each other by now, but taking care of Thunder and Crow before they get me for the money I own them? Now that is even better! So go ahead pest, deal with my loose ends for me, and if that still isn't enough I have one more surprise just for you. Go and get tired, I will deal with you myself right after that.’
Sometime later.
Resting on top of a pillar, Thunder manages to relax and calm down as he takes occasional glances at the barricaded door at the other end of the throne room. At his side he could hear the low growls and quick moving shadow of desperate pegasus on the lookout for their prey, making them resemble a flock of ravens seeking meat. In the end, the dense fog became his perfect hideout, giving him time for his fear to slowly morph into anger as he took a glance at the still unconscious Luna.
‘That stupid human! If it wasn't for him I would be enjoying myself right now! How many stallions could claim to be with heat up alicorn and live? I took a huge bet coming here without my minions and now thanks to him I can't even play!’
He looked down and took out a dagger coated in purple liquid, releasing a dense fog of the same color. I was planning on using this on Snake once the dome was down, but seeing I'm cornered, I might have to use it on the mayor.
Formulating a plan he starts to smirk. Yeah, I wonder what would happen if a powerful neurotoxic design to stop the heart instantly is used in a place where you can’t die? I bet it would be one hell of a paralysis. One, maybe two hours, of pure agonizing pain between life and death.
The sound of a wall moving alerts the pegasus that took his weapon out and flyed higher to hide in time to see the human in question exiting another secret passage and into the room, wearing a gas mask, a chest plate, leg arm and shoulder pads of one of the castle armors to have as protection .
So that is how you avoid the whores in heat then? Clever, but your luck just ran out human.
Looking around the human can only have a moment to adjust his eyes before a dagger is thrown at him from the fog, hitting his shoulder. Immediately the piece of armor started to melt as if it was heated by acid, forcing the human to take it off and toss it before it was too late and find cover on another pillar before another dagger was thrown.
"Had to be honest with you human, despite not fully believing the rumors. A part of me was betting on you beating Yellow Devil. Seems like I won." Thunder starts to taunt him as Mark tries to find him using his voice as a guide.
"You were counting on me beating your friend?" He then dodged when another dagger almost broke his mask.
"Rule #1 in the betting world, always rig the game so you win regardless of the outcome."
"Kind of defeats the purpose of betting, don't you think? What is the point if you win regardless?"
"Getting rich, of course." With his hideout destroyed, Mark is forced to keep dodging as Thunder keeps trying to hit him. Once he gets enough distance between the two, a quick shadow swoops in and recollect the daggers again so the human can't have projectiles of his own.
Getting an idea Mark tries to shoot fire into the fog but they just get lost into the mist.
"Wait, you can also use fire? Are you half dragon now?" Mark tries to follow his voice but his attacks prevent from casting and force the mayor to keep dodging the poisonous weapons. Thunder never stops moving.
"I spent 10 years exploring all of Equus, you don't travel around a magical land without picking a trick or two." Mark replied, finding shelter on another pillar.
"Je, then it's a good thing, I always carry a couple of aces under my sleeve." Mark froze when a ballista with the trigger wrapped on a string, landed on his right and before he could react Thunder pulled the string firing the weapon right into his exposed arm sending him backwards into the ground as he wriggled in pain holding his injury.
"JACKPOT!" Rolling back, Mark barely dodges another attack and starts running away as his arm becomes numb and unresponsive as he finds cover in another pillar.
"Thanks, it was killing me not knowing what happens when a lethal poison is injected inside a healing dome. So it just stops spreading but keeps working right where it hit. Very nice."
Watching the arrow, Mark wonders if he should or shouldn't remove it, when he hears more wooden objects falling from the ceiling, Thunder just spreads more ballista all over the room ready to be sprung, limiting even more of the humans movements. To make matters worse his hideout was almost gone as well.
"And to think I was afraid, not gonna lie, you are a foe that shouldn't be underestimated Mark. You earn this much from me, but tilting things in my favor and keeping my opponents off balance is my bread and butter. I don't know what other tricks you have but I sure as heck not gonna let you have a moment to breathe, it's over primate!"
A shower of arrows go off in every direction, forcing Mark's mind to work overtime to think of something. Spotting a nearby shield he gets an idea and dashes quickly at it before any arrow could reach him. Having managed to get a second to breathe he closes his eyes and snuffs out his flames as he focuses his hex once more moving the lines into his legs. Ignoring how a series of daggers were melting the steel he quickly moved to the left before the shield was gone. Picking up a nearby pebble and throwing it in the direction of the projectiles being launched.
Hearing a thud he smiled knowing he hit his target and without stopping he raced toward the wall before jumping. As his marking changes form to resemble gusts of wind his speed rapidly increases, allowing the human to catapult himself like a bullet into the fog.
"What?!" Thunder has barely a chance to understand what was happening as Mark breezes through the clouds and kicks him square in the stomach, ramming him into the ceiling. Jumping in mid air, Mark continues to dash back and forward, everywhere like a rocket as Thunder could barely dodge his attacks.
Finally appearing behind him, Mark spun around and hit his back right in the middle of his wings making him fall to the ground with force, before the human tumbles down as well.
Having recovered his second wind the pegasus sits down with difficulty before looking at the human and laughs; despite his speed the arrows managing to reach him the armor served some protection, various projectiles find their marks on his back, one of his leg, and his other arm, paralyzing almost all of his body.
Not believing his luck the pegasus can only laugh. "See? I can always tilt things into my favor. That was one heck of a kick, Mr. Mayor." Thunder cleaned some blood from his chin, "I knew you were full of surprises, but to think you can actually run in the air...?" He takes a deep sigh before spotting his short sword, which had the most deadly of his poisons near him, "...It almost makes it a pity I have to kill you." Managing to stand up, the pegasus slowly walks toward the weapon and picks it up as Mark can only glare at him unable to move, trying to gather as much energy he had left into healing at the very least, one arm.
"Please don't take it personal, it's just how things are." He raises the humans head and places the edge of the blade at his throat, "No matter how much you try, the house always wiAHG!" Startled Thunder is shocked when all of a sudden the edge of a dagger pops out of his chest and someone grabs his neck from behind with force. When the fog clears out, both him and Mark are surprised to see Luna standing behind him.
"Jackpot." She utters as she twists the blade. The poison already working its magic in freezing the pony in place as he has a hard time breathing.
"H-how?.." He manages to question, but the princess remains motionless as she effortlessly tosses him out of the window, breaking the glass in the process and clearing the room from the gas.
"Luna?" Sighing in relief Mark looks down to catch his breath, while managing to rip out one arrow from his shoulder, "God I'm so happy to see you are ok, listen, forget about me. I will be fine, you need to go save Celly before..." His words are cut short literally when the princess grabs his neck and raises him into the air as she slowly starts to strangle him.
"L-Luna!" Mark wheezes out as he starts to wriggle in pain as he can only grab her wrist weakly. Only then did the human notice how her eyes were milky white and she also was sporting two green earrings, the princesses face was motionless except with the tears starting to stream from her eyes.
‘Snake he...he is controlling her, and she knows what she’s doing?! I...I need to do something!’
Running out of options he quickly ripped another arrow and stabbed her arm with it, begging that it still had enough poison to do its magic. Luckily it does and her arm goes numb forcing her to release Mark.
Catching his breath the human started to crawl away from the controlled alicorn as she was heading to finish the job. Spotting Thunder's sleeping equipment Mark doesn't waste time and lands on top of the machine turning it on and grabs the hose before Luna could grab his neck again with her free hand. Blasting her with all of the content, the human falls down once more with the alicorn falling on top of him pressing the arrows deeper into his flesh and robbing of what little energy he had left, as his head starts to spiral and he slowly lose consciousness.
Despite all that, he can't help but smile weakly at the sensation of the two massive soft orbs resting right on his face.
Having woken up with a startle, the mayor finds himself once more in a familiar setting with his hands tied behind his back, while sitting on a chair. Only this time instead of the dungeon, He was in Celestia's room, with the 3 princesses still under Snake control and completely nude standing in front of him. A notion that might have worked into something enticing if it wasn't for their milk teary eyes, void of any sense of emotion, and the unicorn responsible for his predicament currently sitting in the princesses bed while sucking on one of her breasts. Not even caring to be gentle and biting hard on her nipple.
Mark’s fist clench and crack alerting the unicorn who stopped and turned to look at him with a dripping chin, "Ah Mr. Mayor, so glad you are back." Standing up he snapped his finger so Luna clean his chin before walking backwards like a servant, "I would have hate it if you had miss the main event"
"Snake Eye." Mark's voice was practically dripping with venom as he tried to remain as calm as possible, his body still numb from the last fight, "I should have expected it. Me breaking free, taking care of your companions, waiting until now to show those mind control earrings, without telling anyone, all of this was part of your convoluted plan, wasn't it?"
"And you played your role flawlessly." He claps a couple of times admitting everything, "Well mostly," Approaching him he pokes his forehead, "Originally I was planning for you and that walking mass of steroids to kill each other, then use the princesses to literally stab my associates in the back when their guard was lowered in order to take control of their enterprises, all in one swift move." He stood back before Mark could bite his finger.
"Of course you just couldn't stay in script, so I had to move into plan B, but to be perfectly honest, half of me was wanting for this to happen." He gets behind Twilight and Luna and grabs their butts as his eyes fluster, "This way my revenge would be way sweeter." He let go and headed to the bed taking off his shirt, "With you having a front view of everything, plus some."
Snapping his finger he ordered Luna and Twilight to sit on either side of the bed. "And all of Equestria convinced that you were the monster responsible." He laughed and shook his head, "And the best part? You can get as furious as you can, and will not be able to do anything about it with how much poison you consumed; There is nothing you will be able to do other than stare and watch as I have my fun. Once I'm done and order this hag to erase the dome..." He grabs Celestia by the checks and forces her to look at Mark.
"...I will receive the full frontal blow of all this deadly poison, and most likely die in agony in a matter of seconds." He summarizes feeling the edges of the arrows still piercing his skin.
"Fitting end it couldn't be. I will even scramble their brains too so they don't know if it was real or not, and place a special curse on them so their magic becomes my own." He raises his shirt revealing a stomach piercing with a green diamond on it. "I might even put a sword through your stomach and then make Celestia hold it so they think you went mad and they had to put you down! I may not be able to take credit anymore, but for the idea of having the magic of 3 super powerful alicorns, the entire control of Equestria underworld AND the bragging rights of knowing I became this bitches greatest nightmare? Well, I say it is more than a worthy sacrifice."
He continued gloating, not realizing the arrows in Mark were slowly getting loose and falling down, the mayor remembering the events in the throne room.
Sometime prior
Starting to lose conscious, Mark had no choice but to open his mouth and latch into one of Lunas nipples, the resulting moan from the monarch was both arousing and making him feel guilty as he started to suck her milk with abandon, trying and failing to not enjoy the situation as much as he could care to admit.
‘Please Princess Luna, I beg of you, don't get mad once you are back to your old self, this is a life or death situation and I don't know what Snake could get in store, I need to be prepared for anything.’ Taking a long, strong slurp the human virtually drowns himself in as much of her milk to kill as much poison as possible before passing out.
Lowering his head to hide his smirk, the human internally cheers in victory. ‘God bless, the alicorn milk. I don't even feel pain anymore. This must be what Wolverine feels like all the time. But I can't relax yet.’
Raising his head with a glare he stares at the despicable unicorn in front of him. ‘I don't know how long this lasts, and he still has the princess under his control. I must make each move count.’
"I still don't get it." Mark's words are enough to make Snake stop and turn to him, "Why Silver? Why go to these lengths? If it was for money you were perfectly capable of getting it by legitimate means, faster too. If it was power or fame, you were way on your way to build something of your own with those books of yours. Everyone loves a good underdog story, specially if you let go of your xenophobia. But this? Going this far and turning into this sick monster, and for what? For petty revenge? This goes beyond pathetic, it's just sad, especially when we both know it's gonna fail and in an incredibly spectacular way too."
"Oh, excuse me," That last comment really pissed him off as he stood from the bed and marched toward the human, "it's gonna fail?" He reiterates with a raised eyebrow and a sarcastic voice, "You seem to be delirious from all that poison primate, so allow me to be as crystal clear as possible. I! WON!!" He points at himself before pointing at the princesses, "I successfully smear your image so much nopony is gonna ever trust you, kill your loved ones, take control and gain the power of the rulers and pretty soon would claim your life. And do what you have left, eh? Nothing! That is why, no allies, no contacts, not even anyone to hear you scream! You are done!"
"Canterlot would never believe your lies, sure you might have tricked some residents, but sooner or later the truth would come up, and when it does..."
"The truth?" He laughed and spat on the floor, "I laugh at your so-called truth. You know what the truth is? Is whatever I say it is! I have ponies infiltrated all over Canterlot way before you came and changed things around, I have the means to silence anyone sniffing more than they should. And now that I have become a ghost, those gullible idiots you call citizens? They believe what I tell them to believe. Face it monkey, I'm untouchable."
"Or so you believe," Mark only smirks at him and raises his head "You had a pretty decent plan, I will give you that, but you made one fatal flaw."
"Oh yeah, and what is that?"
"You messed with the wrong Thestral." He then turned to the left and started talking to the wall. "Did you get all that, Ms. Drusilla?"
"Loud and clear Mr. Mayor"
"What?" Snake froze in place when the illusion mirage is lifted revealing the secretary in question standing in the middle of the room with a squad of swat team guards and a fully installed recording booth, staring at unicorn with glasses that hid her eyes from the reflection of the light.
"Gentlestallions, I don't know you, but I think THIS is exactly where he screwed up." She rewind the tape on her scroll and played it back. "...They believe what I tell them...they believe what I tell them...they believe what I tell them…” The guards look at the tape before looking at the still startled unicorn who exchanges glances between Drusila and Mark. "And don't bother with taking or destroying the tape either, this is going live, you scum!" Drusilla smirks as the guards look at her in shock.
"With the proper censure of course! Of course! Our princess' purity is still to be preserved!" They sigh in relief before staring at the unicorn again.
"B-But, but t-that is not possible! My goons..."
It was now Mark's turn to laugh accompanied by his secretary, "Ah Snake, you really thought we weren't prepared to deal with scums like you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "I even knew that the actress you hired to pretend to be Drusy was fake. She wouldn’t have said those things in that situation."
"Bitch please, you are not even the first stallion that tried to kidnap me." Drusila calls snapping her fingers. "You sure are the only one that walks away and lives though. And anyway we always knew there will always be some wanna be "Evil genius" with a convoluted plans to take away all of our hard work."
"Since I took office, me and Ms. Dracul have been working diligent in forming a secure and complex system of codes and protocols for ponies like you, sending trustworthy and professional officers undercover, keeping an eye on shady dealers, even forming cryptic messages for all of us to communicate, your so called “goons” were working with the police all along. Since the first note, I knew she was ok thanks to the code put at the end, so I could relax and just play innocent knowing my secretary had everything under control." He turns to look at the mare in question who in turn smiles and winks at him. "Spike might be Twilight’s #1 assistance, but Ms. Drusilla is the queen of the assistants, you never understood that, and that is why you kept underestimating her."
Snake tries to run away but another squad enters the room ready with spears and spells as he returns into the center of the room. Drusilla worked on untying Mark while talking. "We couldn't risk you getting away and crawling into another hole so we simply played along to catch a bigger fish." Once free Mark stood up and massaged his wrist. "And what a catch we got."
"Indeed, we should be thanking you Snake, thanks to you, we have finally captured most of the criminal population of Canterlot."
"No!" He starts to panic, not finding a way to escape.
"Told you it was gonna fail spectacularly, now do us a favor and just surrender, right now you are just being pathetic." Mark advises as Snake glares at him.
"This.Isn't.OVER!" In a desperate attempt Snake takes out and throws a smoke bomb from one of his pockets at the ground halting the guards advance and giving him an opening to take control of the princesses to force a teleportation spell as he grab hold of Celestia.
"Oh no you don't!" Recovering the fastest, Mark rushes forward and grabs/tackles both him and Celestia right when the spell went off, causing the magic to get out of control and sending everyone in the room, in all directions, breaking various walls and damaging the castle as everyone crashed everywhere. The force was enough to crack the dome and launch the mayor, Snake and Celestia outside the castle, crashing into a far away abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city.
Coughing a couple of times Mark slowly stood up only to receive a kick on the ribs, that sent him flying a couple of meters, and dragged his body on the ground.
"DAMN IT!" Coughing again he looked to his right and saw a furious Snake glaring daggers and panting hard while Princess Celestia remained motionless beside him. "You just couldn't help yourself could you? you just HAD to ruin my plans over and over again. Even messing with my escape!"
Sitting up with some difficulty he massages his stomach, "It would have been pointless anyway, all of Canterlot once again knows what you did. And considering how much you cost them, I highly doubt anyone will want to do anything with you other than skin you alive before you even say a 'hello'." He raises to his feet, "Seems like your only choice is self exile."
"You think this is funny? You think you won?" He uses his magic to lift him off the ground and start to strangle him, "There would be morons willing to listen, I will find tougher goons and I will return with an army ready to force Canterlot to their status quo, but before that, I will take care of this annoying pebble on my horse shoes! Celestia uses your horn and stabs his chest!" He bellowed, turning to the princess who extended her wings and was about to take flight.
Remembering the advice of Mother Superior, Mark closes his eyes and tries to overlap two hex before using them. Celestia was about to kill him when Mark formed an eye in the middle of 3 crosses in his forehead and cast a powerful blinding light that startled Snake ending the spell and freeing Mark right in time to catch Celestia into a hug.
"NO! No, not gonna fail again!" Still trying to recover his eyesight, Snake gets more and more desperate and activates the gem on his stomach "Fine! If that is how you want it, I’ll do it myself!" Collecting a big chunk of Celestia magic, his body starts to get bulky and is surrounded by the same golden glow as Celestia’s power.
"M-Mark." With a weak whisper and streaming tears, the princess try’s to take hold of his face before Mark assists and finishes the action "I-I’m sorry I knew what I was doing but, I couldn't…"
Mark shushes her and gently places her on some crates away from the unicorn, finding a blanket to cover her body and moving some of her mane to see the earrings cracked and becoming useless. "Now rest Celly, the mayor has this."
She smiled and nods, but not before grabbing his arm, "Mark, kick his ass."
"With pleasure, my sweet sunshine~" Chuckling lightly, and watching him approach the enraged power up pony whose eyesight was slowly returning.
‘If he really has Celestia magic, I can't take any chances. God overlapping two hexes alone was hard enough, but this is no time for bein’ reserved, I have to put everything on the table.’
Taking advantage of what little time he had left, Mark closed his eyes and took a deep breath before focusing, overlapping and activating all of his hexes.
Clenching his fist as hard as he could, Mark tensed every single muscle on his body as he started to sweat briefly before the liquid turned into vapor from the intense heat, his body started to illuminate and turn into a mosaic of every changing and moving glowing color. Celestia who was still too tired and drained thanks to Snake robbing her magic could only stare in awe and surprise how Mark’s muscle mass seems to be increasing and his skin turn as white as a wax candle.
When the ground started to tremble and with his vision returning, Snake had to pause and take a step back out of the sheer intensity Mark's body seemed to be going through.
"I-It useless! No matter what last trick you have human! You could never match the power of an alicorn!" Feeling intimidated, Snake absorbed even more power from Celestia as he could, making his body balloon into a muscle mass and became a giant unicorn, his horn elongated and discharge magic like crazy, yet despite the change his fear didn't die down when the body of Mark seemed to crack and dry out like he was literally changing skin until a flash of light blow the old skin away and lift a huge cloud of sweat. Once everything cleared up, both him and Celestia were star struck at the image in front of them.
Standing with a cut muscular form, Mark skin return to normal but now had sharp small lines resembling tree branches on his torso and arms, his legs had blue curve lines that resemble intense gust of winds, a strong single purple flame stood proud on his forehead and in the case Celestia who was looking his back was the most stunning mark of them all. A sun and moon half way from forming an eclipse, with a star at the top acting as a light reflection.
‘It...It looks like mine, Luna and Twilight cutie marks combined. Wha...what does that mean?’
Breathing a visible breath Mark finally relaxes and opens his eyes revealing that they have ignited as well and get on guard. "Consider yourself honored Snake, not many have ever seen the final form of a hex master. God Paint Form!"
"You petulant monkey I will put you in your..." Snake tries to cast a spell but Mark suddenly disappears only to re-appear in front of him with his fist extended. In panic he manages to erect half a dome to intersect, creating a shock wave that pushes him backwards leaving a trail of dirt and rock in front of Snake.
So strong, if I didn't put the shield..." Bringing his right fist into his forehead Mark ignites it and extends his palm at the unicorn.
Now prepared, Snake casts a complete dome only to be engulfed and then struck by Mark’s flames as he shoots it like a flamethrower. Snake teleports before it could be drained but Mark jumps and intercepts the moment he reappears forcing him to place his arms into a cross to block the attack which connects and send him flying at the other corner of the room leaving a crater in the wall as he tries to catch his breath.
That one was even stronger! How is he doing this?!Kneeling down Snake glares at the human as he casually marches toward him, at that moment Snake paid closer attention to his tattoos and how they change to a single color depending on his actions, as they were currently changing from green to blue, not only that but despite barely moving since the fight started, Mark was already panting. Could it be?
Testing his theory, Snake rushes at him with his fist raised. Mark stopping and getting ready to meet him halfway, turning his marks back to green only for in the last second Snake turn things around and use his magic to lift him off the ground and launch him into the air until his mark turned purple and he absorb the magic, falling right into the unicorns trap as he jumped and hit him in the stomach making him ram and break a pillar.
"So much for a ‘final form’." Snake snarks with a laugh "I figure how your little trick works human, you can only use force, speed or magic one at a time, and it's pretty easy to call which one you are gonna use when each mode has its own glow." Snake stopped to admire how Mark starts to have difficulty breathing normally and hold his stomach, "Wonder how much energy you have after casting so much magic"
Mark’s eyes widen in surprise as Snake’s smirk widened knowing he was right. "Yeah I bet you have one, maybe two minutes left, while I still have plenty of energy." He demonstrates by discharging a huge wave of magic that tripled the gravity of the whole place and made the room start to crack and bend. Mark tries to run away but the wave catches him and pins him to the ground, he tries to use the flame but Snake is faster and focuses the pressure into his arm breaking it on the process and breaking his concentration.
"MARK!" Celestia could only see in horror how Snake cackled maniacally before lifting him up and then toss him around into the air like a rag dol,l "No healing dome here primate, this is your end!"
Pushing through the pain Mark ignites his body at the last second and breaks free before a chunk of the ceiling breaks and brings him back to the floor.
"Ha! Pathetic!" Smirking Snake approaches the pile of rubble, "You might have ruined everything, but I at least can take your head as a consolation prize.” Snake uses his magic and tosses everything away only to find a hole in the ground.
"What?" Getting nervous he stood back and cast a shield around him gulping once.
‘It...it doesn't change anything, he barely has anything left, 10 seconds tops at best. I only need to hold up just a little bit longer.’ He tries to calm himself, ignoring how the floor beneath him was slowly turning purple.
Meanwhile a couple of meters underground Mark stares at his remaining arm and closes his eyes.
‘Just one last shot. Come on, I need to focus, just once. I need to merge the 3.’ Putting all his concentration and energy on it. His fist illuminated in an intense purple glow, the root marks grew bulkier and a light purple fog swirled around his arm. Channeling everything he aimed at the ground on top of him before hitting it lightly.
The results are immediate and a violent fire twister sucked all of Snake's magic and pressed him against the piece of the floor that was catapulted into the ceiling, pressing the two with a piece of the rooftop. Mark appeared on top of it and spun vertically to kick the rubble with such force it split in half and ram Snake back down creating a crater. Mark appears beside him and kicks him again into the air, before appearing behind him repapering multiple times, destroying the gem and cutting his connection with Celestia, yet Mark kept his assault until his fist turned white hot.
He landed and aimed a punch into the air as a bloody Snake was effortlessly falling. Hitting the air, Mark shoots a devastated white beam that leaves a clean burn hole in its path, including a section of Snake's lower abdomen.
The poor unicorn needed a moment to realize what was happening before screaming in complete agony as he realized that the human just castrated and catharized his wound.
His screams are quickly interrupted when he feels a hand grab the back of his head "Remember what I promise?"
With a cold sweat the unicorn slowly turns his head to see the still furious human behind him.
"P...please, MERCY, you won, YOU WON! Just please arrest me, put me away. Just...no, no, please let’s talk about it!" Dragging away from Celestia so she doesn't see Mark toss him back into a crater before jumping down. Some loose wires on the celling going off manage to cast their shadows.
"I'm a man of my word Snake."
"Wait! WAIT! Let's discuss this! You don't need to go this far, I know what I did was wrong, I know I technically committed treason, but if you could just let me...aUGh, what if I swallowed a dildo instead! A really huge one, just, no...no, no, NO!!"
The princess could only hear the gurgling complaints of the unicorn as Mark shove a thick long object down his throat in one go before grabbing and keeping his mouth shut. "Now swallow."
He raises his head and Snake keeps wringing desperately until the gravity won over and he can't do anything but to do just that. Once that happened Mark let him go so he could shout at the top of his lungs out of sheer disgust and horror gagging and what looks like he is about to throw up.
Mark watches the display happening before sighing in exhaustion and almost losing his balance. The only thing keeping him conscious was Celestia's sake and convinced that he was too traumatized and injured to run away, he left Snake to his own devices.
He turned around and was about to leave when another screech called his attention, confused he look back and saw the unicorn shaking erratically on the floor as foam was forming in his mouth before passing out, the smell of burned flesh and faint glow in the hole that was his crouch catch the humans attention and when looking he saw how it was regenerating.
‘The milk!’ Mark’s eyes widened in realization remembering how Snake took a sip of Celestia milk when he woke up. ‘The poor bastard didn't know what that milk is capable of doing, and the domes hyper-charged the already powerful healing capability. So considering how sensitive the genitals are...oh boy Snake you are in for the mother of all pains right there, no wonder you pass out from the pain.’
Shaking his head the human resumed his march and made his way toward Celestia who kept looking at him in shock as his tattoos banished completely.
"Mark?" She asks with a shackled hand seeing how part of his body was covered in Snake’s blood.
For his part he only smiled and nodded. "It’s over Celly, he will not harm you anymore." He reassures her before starting to fall.
"Mark!" With her energy returning she rushes and catches him, letting him pant hard.
"I'm...I'm ok...just exhausted…"
"Ok my butt, Mark you are injured! You need medical attention right away!"
At that moment they hear a flash of light and ponies calling out near the two.
"Seems like the press is almost here." Mark covers Celestia's body with the blanket, only now she realizes her condition and hugs the fabric closer to her body with an intense blush. "You should leave before they see you."
"What?!"
"Don't worry, I can give you cover, I bet the mayor, with blood on his hands, in only his underwear and a pony that was supposed to be death unconscious in a crater will be enough to get their attention, now go Celly before it too late."
"But you are hurt!"
"And you are virtually naked, please Celestia. A broken arm can heal but the public can't see you like this. I know it is selfish of me and I put too much in appearance, but Canterlot needs to know." He holds her cheek, "They need you to guide them. Snake already put everyone on edge, seeing you like this would be a recipe for mass hysteria, so please I beg of you let me deal with the press and go back to the castle."
She remained quiet for a moment before bringing their forehead together holding a tear "The moment you are fine, the very second you get medical attention, you go see me straight away, that is an order Mr. Mayor."
He smiles and nods "As you command princess."
Separating with their hands lingering for a moment, Celestia nods one last time before using the last of her energy to teleport back to Canterlot in time for voices to be heard near the mayor. With a sigh Mark tries to get as presentable as possible before turning around and marching forward to face the press with nothing, but his boxers on.
Retouching her makeup, Drusilla admires herself in a mirror while applying a red lipstick, in the corner of her desk lay a series of newspapers highlighting the events that transpired over heat week. Mark’s announcement of staying inside the castle, the panic of the sun and moon appearing in the sky, the subsequent arrests and exposure of Silver Tongue (aka Snake Eye) and his accomplishes, with a picture of Mark in his boxers in front of a destroyed warehouse, and finally a chart with arrows pointing down announcing how crime has been on a record low while the mayor's approval has been on a gradual rise, as well as his popularity among the female population. With rumors of the people wanting him to serve another four more years. A knock on the door caught her attention as she kissed the air and admired her work turning her head from one side to the other.
"Come on in, it's open!" She called without looking back and instead using the reflection of the mirror to see who was entering revealing the mayor in question, wearing his usual formal clothes that hug his body a bit more tighter thanks to his added muscular mass, plus an arm cast sigh by not only her but the Elements and almost all the princesses of Equestria.
"Hi Drusy, Do you have a moment?"
"Ah Mark, but of course! Come in, come in! I was actually meaning to give you something." She issued him to get closer with a friendly smile before turning to a long rectangle present on the desk next to him. The mayor complies and gets closer as she grabs the present. "Today is the day you two have that special talk isn't it?" She looked at him with a smirk and a knowing smile.
"Am I that obvious?"
"No, I just know you that well. So before you start getting cold feet;" She poked his chest "You.Got.This, in fact I say you are more than ready to receive this."
Curious, the human takes the present off her hands as she looks at him with excitement. "So what are you waiting for? Open it!"
Nodding he ripped the paper and found a wooden box with a button lock on it. Now more intrigued Mark opens the box and inside he discovers how the inside was a well decorated and clean up pitch black riding crop with his initials on the base. "Do you like it? I order made myself using the best materials.''
"Oh wow, I don't...Drusy I don't know what to say. I...thanks! But are you sure? This is kind of a huge deal and..." She placed a finger on his lips.
"I'm sure, and that mare is a very special lady. Trust me, my lady instincts tell me she would love it if you baptized this with her. So consider it my sign of approval. From one Dom to another." She winks and lightly hit his chest. "And don't lie to me Mark I know you too are eager to give it a go."
He nods with more determination and takes the box. "I will use it responsibly!"
"I know you will! Now before you go," She turns around, "would you zip my back?" He nods and helps her zip the back of her dress which consisted of a long leather corset-like dress that reached her breast that hugged her body very tight. Underneath she was wearing a frilly black thong with garters connected to long semi transparent long socks. She was also wearing long black gloves, nail high heels and a leather necklace with spikes on it completing her dominatrix assembly.
"Thank you! Now go get it Tiger! I'm gonna be very busy here."
She smirks looking to her right at Thunder, Crow and Devil all tied up in the sex dungeon they were all currently in, wearing nothing but tight red underwear. All of them muffled screams with gag balls and the latter tied down to a bed , while the other two were chained against a wooden giant X. Near the bed was a trail with all sorts of toys in full display ready to be used.
"I still can't believe they actually agree to this." Mark tells in disbelief as Drusilla only shakes her head.
"Hey, they plead for a reduced sentence, that is exactly what they got, not my fault they didn't read the whole contract and conditions of said agreement." She defended briefly entering into her more professional mode.
"HA, well something tells me they will after today, Drusy just remember to keep them hydrated this time ok?" Mark warns her, making her roll her eyes.
"One pony passes out ONE time and then you never let it go!" She laughed and waved at the door, "Go! Have fun, don't let me keep you away from your date."
"Isn't that yet." He remind her before kissing her on the cheek goodbye. "Have fun too.~"
He calls before closing the door leaving the Thestral alone with her victims who start thrashing around even harder.
"Oh don't worry Marky..." She grabs hold of a fleshlight on the silver plate before approaching the criminals "...I intend to.~"
With pale skin and completely terrified looks, they thrash around and muffle help as hard as they can while sweating a river.
"Aw what is the matter dear?" Drusilla mocks concern while exchanging glances at each other, "Are we having cold hooves now?" She laughed briefly, "Too late for that I'm afraid, you were warned repeatedly and were givin an official contract with all the details this deal entitled. It is not our fault you assumed you would only be mounting mares with residual heat. And if you ask me, this is almost a kindness."
She grabbed the cheeks of Crow and forced him to stare into her furious eyes, "If it were up to me, you 3 should be castrated with red hot scissors and put in a healing dome so you share the same fate your buddy Snake had and be reduced to choose between sex reassignment surgery or doom to forever have a 4 year old dick!"
They panic and shake their heads in desperation as Drusilla lets go of the unicorn and sighs to calm down. "But that is not me, I'm above petty revenge and at the end of the day I'm still a professional." She walks toward Yellow Devil and grabs the fleshlight with both hands, "You’re here to be taught to extend your umbral of pain and that is exactly what I'm gonna do!" She flips a cylinder on the toy and they all hear a click on the instrument.
"With all that being said, which one of you scumbags assaulted the mayor?!" She orders and they gulp as Thunder and Crow unconsciously look at Yellow Devil who starts to sweat bullets, a notion that Drusilla quickly notices.
"Ah yes you," She smirks malevolently before looking at the other two, "Thank you dears, I promise I will use lube on yours as a reward."
They grew scared at the statement and clench their asses while Drusilla climbs into bed and presses the edge point of her heel right into the earth ponies balls making him flinch. "Don't worry big boy, I will start slow, just relax and don't resist, or it will hurt more.~"
She slowly starts to grind his genitals and the mix of pain and fear soon manage to make his dick stand to attention enough for the Thestral to grab it and start pumping it up. "There you go, now then. I suggest you take a deep breath and brace yourself." She squished the toy in front of his eyes and Devil blood ran cold when Drusilla showed that inside the instrument were a lot of small iron needles. "Trust me, you don't want to thrash around much with your dick inside a Leeches Kutch."
Later that day at the castle
Standing in front of the entrance, the human took a deep breath before marching forward and approaching one of the guards beside the door. "I request an audience with the princess..."
"...We already were informed Mr. Mayor." The guard interrupted before smiling at him, "The princesses already organized the order to see each."
"Each?" he raised an eyebrow in confusion as the guard nodded.
"They all want a private chat with you sir, the first one is waiting for you at the top of the east tower."
"O…..K?" He replies, summarizing the fact that they need to clear the air.
I mean I technically saw all of them naked so...oh boy various guards saw them naked too and they were filmed too! Oh I hope they aren't mad! He cringes internally at the realization. "And which princess is waiting for me there?"
"They order us not to tell, don't worry sir. I'm sure they only want to thank you for your help. Mr. Hero." The guard jokes and chuckles as Mark advances and waves goodbye with some embarrassment.
"Just serving my city, it wasn't much."
While marching forward he spotted some of the mares he 'played' during heat week that once they saw him, he walked averting their eyes in embarrassment with some blush on their faces and gulping while entering a nearby room.
And that is the famous, post heat shame march. God I hope it passes, otherwise talking with human resources or the royal treasurer might get awkward.
Not really knowing what to say, Mark resorts to only smiling and waving at some of the mares who seem to be on the same brain pattern as they reply with the same gesture before leaving. The rest of the trip was relatively quiet and thankfully wasn't as awkward as he had expected until he arrived at the room in question, which was open in a purple glow before he had the chance to knock.
Twilight
"Enter." Twilight calls from inside with a neutral tune as Mark complies and marches forward, the door closing behind him once he entered, while he saw the mares back in a dark blue sweater, and red squared skirt, reading a book besides a bookshelf to her right, he realizing that this must have been her old room back when she was a student. "Hi Twilight, d-did you want to talk?" Trying to hide his nervousness, Mark attempts to act as friendly as possible.
"Yes I did." Twilight mentions with neutrality as she closes the book she was reading with some force making him flinch in time for her to look him in the eyes. "You see Mark, I don't usually brag. I prefer to be humble about my actions and accomplishments." She began circling around him, "Except with one small subject, one tinsy little thing I'm not ashamed in admitting to excel at."
She stops in front of him and looks up with a finger raise, "And that is studying, think of it like an...itch of sorts, each time I stumble into something I have no knowledge about, specially something involving magic, there is this tingle in my body begging me to solve it, to understand it, to study it!" She handed over the book and when the human took it he saw that the title read 'Advance Guide on enchanted items'.
"So you can understand why ever since the heat incident, I have been doing some small research in my free time."
With an exhausted sigh Mark nods, getting exactly what she meant. "Yeah, I see where this is coming from."
"Oh and are you aware that there is not a single book in the royal library that even mentions enchanting paint, hex or magic tattoos despite being said to contain any information ever registered in and out of Equestria?"
She questioned with a raised eyebrow to which the human could only nod. "Yeah, I imagine as much, but come on Twily! Don't you think you are overthinking this? I mean I’m just a regular mayor that explored the world, maybe you are only looking at the wro-"
"Don't play dumb with me Mark!" She reproach again while putting the book back in the shelf, "It’s clear you possess Equestria has never seen before, maybe all of Equus, something that for some reason you don't want anyone to find out, and whatever it is, it has the potential to rival even the magic of an Alicorn!" She presses on poking his chest for an answer as he backs away.
"Please Twilight you have to understand, I can't talk about it. It is a secret and meant only as a case of necessity, that is all!" He tries to defend himself.
"Enough excuses Mark!" Before he realized he was pinned against a wall while Twilight kept pressing on, "Admit it! You’re an enigma, an unknown subject!" The human lost his ability to speak when Twilight grabbed his shirt and planted a strong kiss on his lips before breaking apart and brought him into a hug, "A never before type of magic…" She kissed him again and even brought her leg up to pin him even harder as she started to dry hump him, "A reading material begging for me to study!" She kisses even harder using her tongue to try invade his mouth.
For his part Mark recovered some sense and struggled to get free of her grasp "Twi...Twilight!" His words only give her access to his mouth as she deepens the kiss and using her magic starts to work on his pants. "Twi...Sto-stop!" Having no choice, he used his hex and increased his force, managing to break the two apart and turned around to take a couple of steps away from the mare and recover his breath.
The princess startled slightly, looks at him confused and a bit hurt by his reaction. "Wha...what was that?" Mark asks, finally finding his voice.
"What’s wrong? Too strong, b-because I can go a bit slower if you prefer, I just thought you like it that way, I read a couple of books where stallions usually-"
"Twilight!" He interrupted her before she went on a rant, "It is not that you were or not going too fast. I mean...maybe a little, but it mostly is that it happened at all. Twilight I didn't know you have this side. N-Not that is bad or anything, it just caught me by surprise." He is genuinely impressed which causes her to blush and look away as she takes a glance at the slight bulge in his pants.
"Di-...Did I scare you?" She asks in concern and Mark approaches her in pity putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Like I said, I was caught off guard, that is all. But we can't do this Twilight, I can't do this to Flash Sentry."
That name caught Twilight by surprise as Mark shook his head. "I am not a home breaker, you two are such a cute couple..."
"...Uh Mark, you honestly don't remember?"
"Remember what?"
Twilight starts to think before coming up with an idea, "Maybe this would help," Getting closer she grabbed and extended their hands and put the other one on his waist, "Now put your other hand on my waist."
"You want to dance?"
"More like retracing our steps in a way, trust me this will help you jog your memory." Shrugging Mark complied and they started a slow dance while staring into each other's eyes, the human in particular widened when everything came back as clear as day.
Back at the Mayor's party, while they were slow dancing the princess in question was sobbing lightly as she exposed her heart out. 'I just...I just don't get what I did wrong?! I try to be a good marefriend, I listen to his interests, I try to make compromises for him. I did literally everything all the books suggest and still...h-he said...he broke up with me! She openly weeps as Mark lets her vent and literally lend a shoulder to cry on, or in this case head to cry on due to the size difference.
'Oh Twily, I'm so sorry, these things unfortunately happen, you try to make a relationship work but in the end, you simply don't work together. At the very least it ended on good terms, and he was gentle with you wasn't it?'
'Yea' She sniffed and nodded before breaking the hug to look at him, 'Did this happen to you before?'
To the question Mark can only remain quiet before looking away '...Yes, but that is not important now. What is important is you and how any stallion...or mare would be lucky to have you in their life.' He offered a sympathetic smile which she reciprocated once he helped her clean some tears and brought him back into a hug.
'He said our relationship was simply too soulless, too methodic and cold, like more than a relationship, it felt like we were only filling a list of chores and...and he was right. I try but I just couldn't be spontaneous.'
'It is not easy Twily, but the important thing is that you try and you can think of this as a lesson, just need to take one step at a time. That is, if you still wish to be more relaxed and spontaneous.' They stare at each other's eyes and she smiles before they both get closer and share a kiss with their eyes closed.
Opening them again the two were back at Twilight’s room sharing the exact same kind and natural kiss without any trace of aggression before breaking apart. Twilight smiled and giggled a little. "I take it, you remember now?"
"Yeah," Mark nods slowly and separates the two, "but wow, you...broke out. Twilight, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," She smiled and got closer to hold his hand and nuzzle his shoulder with her head, "It really help me grow as a mare and more importantly the experience helped me find someone that taught me how to forget about following lists and just live, in the moment."
Mark smiled at the gesture and tighten the grip briefly before his smile turned to sorrow and he gently pushed her away much to her confusion and hurt expression, "Oh Twilight, I'm so happy and flattered to hear that, but...I can't."
"Why?" She asked with held back tears. "Is it because of our status? Mark you can't let a title define you, I understand if there is no feelings, if that is the reason then I would respect it but, don't you dare close that door just because I'm a princess and you are a mayor!" She warned him and was about to say more when Mark shook his head.
"Is more than that, Twilight I..."
Smiling, he grabbed both her hands and brought them together, "You are an incredibly stunning mare, I really meant it when I say anypony would be happy to have you, including me. God you have no idea how much I'm struggling right now not to kiss you!" He tells physically shaking, "But I can't I...Twilight this is not me bein’ prideful, this is me being scared, scared that I...that I might be too intense for you."
"Intense?" She repeated skeptically, "Mark is this some kind of excu-"
"I'm serious here!" He startles her when he raised his voice and averted his eyes before looking at his box. With a sigh he knew that in order for Twilight to understand she would need a visual example. "I think it will be easier if I just show you."
He approaches the box and passes his hand over the edge before opening "Earlier you showed a very intimate part of you Twily, it would only fair if I return the favor. You see, if reading and learning might excite you. Then this..." He shows her the riding crop and makes it crack to emphasize his point and causes her to flinch "...is what does it for me. Twilight I'm a Dom, it is in no way what define me but it...its a part of me, a very scary part that I'm always wary to share with my partner."
"So...so you like to inflict and receive pain when having sex?" She is still startled by the revelation as he shakes his head, "You are thinking of a sadomasochist, I'm only in the sado section, more or less. I'm still figuring things out myself but something I'm sure is that I find pleasure in having my partner be submissive, and I am not a fan of the roles being reversed."
He got closer to her and poke her chest with his crop, "Could you really handle this side of me Twilight? I might repress it, I could try to compromise and find another method, but I'm not sure if I could be 100% okay with myself if I do. No, I'm sure that if I were to do that, part of me would never be happy."
She gulps and gets nervous, "I..I see, but Mark we could still find a middle ground! I...I could also compromise, find a way for us to work."
"Could we Twilight?" He ask getting closer, "This isn't exactly foreplay for me, most of the time what I do is in the heat of the moment and it could manifest in all sorts of ways. It can get extremely intense too when that happens. Would you be able to forgive me if I out of the blue do something like slap your flank?" The tension in the room managed to cloud his judgment a little making the human do just that with the riding crop making her flinch.
"M..Mark?" Twilight started to get afraid on how the mayor was starting to act yet he wasn't done yet.
"Will you be okay if I suddenly start to talk dirty to you. To explore every itch and cranny of your body with tools, to tease you relentlessly until you start begging me to claim you as mine!" He get more intense, and use the instrument to tease her body, tickling her breast, circling her nipples until they become hard and pointy, finished by bringing the tip to her crouch and over the fabric of her skirt and underwear teasing her labia up and down until both fabrics became damp. The mare tried to talk but only managed to moan at the treatment, unsure if what she was feeling was fear or excitement.
"Or even worse, will you be okay, or of not be able to forgive me if I get lost in the moment, and start to get more aggressive with you, like for example what would you do if I were to grab your mane and pull hard, with one hand while the other grabbed your face and force you to keep your lips ready to be kiss, if I suggest or order you to bark like a dog, and mentions how I want to put a collar on that enticing neck of yours, that you keep driving me crazy, and just getting lost in this beautiful eyes of yours waking a primitive side of me before delivering a strong possessive kiss!"
He recreates all the actions without realizing leaving the princess speechless as she stays still with stiff wings while the human goes to town and explores every part of her mouth playing with her tongue until he has his fill and breaks the connection leaving only a trail of saliva between the two. "Will that really be okay with you Twily!? Would it be okay having that kind of relationship with me?!" He demanded an answer but when she looked completely stunned the human finally realized what he just did and backed away in panic. The princess reacted, bringing her hands to her mouth and blushing intensely with widened eyes.
"I-I-I'm sorry is just...and you were...I was...you were so attractive and those eyes, I...I got lost in my imagination and- I'm sorry!" He put the riding crop back in the box and rushed away from the room, "God I'm such an idiot!"
He chastises himself before closing the door behind him, but it wasn't until he was gone that Twilight looked back to where he left, still at a loss of words.
Retreating to a nearby bench near the garden the mayor tries some breathing exercises to try and calm himself down while playing in his head the apology he will have to give Twilight once she manages to calm down.
'Now I really did it, accident or not I virtually assaulted a princess! Now let's think about it Mark, this is Twilight we are talking about, and she wasn't exactly acting pure either, maybe we can work a deal. Maybe never speak of this again, yeah she might understand that I was mainly marking my point...
"Uh sir?" Startled Mark looked up to see a guard look at him confused ,"Are you ok? You seem a bit, pale."
"Who me? I..." He clears his throat and stands up trying to look more presentable, "Y-yeah everything is fine, just concerned with some personal issues. Was there anything I could do for you?"
"Well like I tried to say a moment ago, if were done with Princess Twilight, the second princess is waiting for you...no you can't ask which one it is." The guard answered before he could ask, "She is in the dining room, if you truly are okay I suggest you go see her sir. It isn't exactly nice leaving a lady waiting."
"Right, right, I should be going then." He nods and marches away from the guard as he resumes his duties.
I better think about an apology later, the last thing I want is to make things awkward between Twilight and me. Oh better not think about it at the moment, for now I have two more meetings to attempt. And at the very least they will not end as badly as the last one. Mark gave himself a small pep talk to relax and brace himself to chat with the second mysterious princess, until once again he was standing in front of two giant doors, and just like before a blue aura opened them before he had time to knock.
"Come on in Mark." Luna voice calls from the other side as Mark advances.
How do they keep knowing I'm here?
Luna
"Hi Luna, one of your guards told me you wanted to see me?" Mark raises an eyebrow as Luna seems to be admiring the view from one of the windows in the room giving him her back. "And not that I am not happy to see you, but why are you still awake? It's too late for you to still be up, aren't you tired?" "Your concerns are deeply appreciated dear Mark." She turns to him with a smile as she seems to be holding a change of clothes in her hands, "But I'm assure you, that I'm fine, knowing of this meeting I took a long nap early to be well rested," She put the clothes on the table, "I just couldn't risk being exhausted for this, there is plenty for us to talk about. Mainly the events that transpired in the final days of heat."
Suddenly Mark recalled what he had to do to survive and blush intensely.
CRAP! I forgot! They were aware of their actions all along so that means that when I took a sip...oh boy.
"Please have a seat," She offers an empty chair and the mayor finally notices how she seems to have prepared a snack for the two, with a big jug of cold milk between the two plates, "Just because the subject isn't pleasant doesn't mean we can't try and make things less tense about it. Am I right?" She offers with a calm demeanor as she takes a seat.
"Y-Yeah, plus your food is always delicious, there is no way I would refuse that." Mark decided not to think about the situation too much and tries to calm down.
She doesn't seem embarrassed or angry, so maybe she understood the circumstances and will let the subject go gently.
Taking the jar and serving himself, Mark tries to calm his nerves as he offers to fill her cup which she gladly accepts.
"So...the final days eh? Snake really fooled us all, didn't he?"
"He certainly did, although some more than others." She replied without skipping a beat, making him choke on his drink. "Mark, I need to ask, the way you flipped his master plan so effortlessly, how much did you know of his intentions?"
With a sigh he stared down, "Not as much as you imagine, yeah I have ponies infiltrated, and me and Drusy have quite the complex system to work with, but even with that. The guy was a slippery one. He always was careful to whom he disclosed his plans, he knew how to stick to the shadows pretty well, and knew to appear only when he was sure there weren't any loose ends. Frankly, although it might have seemed like I was in control the whole time. The truth is that I play much of it by ear. I was as shocked as you were when he and his goons stormed the castle, and even more shocked when he revealed the mind control earrings."
At the last part Luna can't help but flinch and unconsciously massage her right ear in memory. "Yes, that was certainly an unpleasant ordeal."
"Luna...would you like to talk about...?" She shook her head before he could finish.
"We will reach that point eventually, for now I'm more interested in how you manage to pull such a daring rescue? If you weren't aware of his actions how were you managing to counteract them?"
"There isn't much to think about it, Drusy and I simply had a "loaded ballista" sort of deal." He explained using air quotes. "We have plans and counter measures for everything we thought could happen, an attack on city hall, subtle extortion, infiltration in the royal guard and security corps." He started to list. "And in this case, framing of crimes. Ponies with this kind of plans just can't help themselves, their pride compels them to monologue, they just have to make a grandiose speech." He chuckled lightly.
"It was kind of funny in retrospect, at the end of the day, it was Snake who shot himself in the hoof, if he had only let Thunder finish me off, if only he had stayed quiet. There was a good chance he might have won, but no. He just had to gloat, and because of that he sprung my trap right there."
"Wouldn't it be easier if Drusilla had intervened? She was already in my sister’s room."
"Most likely." He confessed with a shrug, "No plan is flawless after all, and sometimes we can only rely on luck and trust. Like Drusy trust me and wait until I send the signal, and I trusted her to change or do whatever she wanted to the original plan, honestly I wouldn't be surprised if she had a snipper to be there the whole time, I don't know and I don't care, I simply trust my secretary that much."
"I see, you truly have a great deal of confidence in your secretary." Luna mentions playing with her cup much to his confusion, "It seems the two of you are real close."
Seeing her disappointed expression Mark sighs, "Luna, can I trust you with a secret?"
Flinching she looks at him, "Ah sure, my lips are sealed" She still seems sad but nods regardless.
"Good because you might want to hear this, you see, what Drusy and I have going on, it's mostly an act to keep everyone off balance." Her eyes wide and she slowly starts to smile
"Really?"
Marks nods before continuing, "At first we tried sure, but it just felt weird and wrong to the point of the idea of real intimacy with each other making us shiver and not in a good way." He points at her with a cookie before eating.
"Really? But the way you two act, the teasing and pet names, not to mention how close you seem to be."
"Oh we’re close certainly, in a platonic way. I truly love that Thestral, she is like the older cool sister I never had, as for the teasing? Pure act, we all had our enemies Luna, but they tend to underestimate you if they think you choose a secretary just to mount her or you only got the job because you spread your legs. Which was exactly what happened with Snake. He kept thinking she was just a very smart bimbo that does what I say and that is it, while I only thought with my dick when I chose her. Just like we wanted him to believe."
"So all this time, all those teasing and public show of affection..."
"Pure misdirection."
"Mark! That is just devious! For years you have been fooling all of Canterlot!"
"So?"
"So? I love it! I knew you two were ingenious, but to think it would go to this extent?"
"And that is why we tried to keep it a secret, so please…"
"Don't worry, like the night your little act is secure with me." She mentions more relaxed now.
"Thanks." There was a pause as she seems to be playing with her cup again.
"So...is it okay to assume you are available? T-The TWO! The two of you I mean!" She clarifies herself, making Mark chuckle.
"Yes Luna, we are both pretty much available." He smirks and points at her with a finger while drinking from his cup, "But I'm not sure Drusy is your type. She can be a bit...intense." He joked to lighten the mood but got the opposite effect with her response.
"That is okay, Ms. Dracul isn't the one whom I'm after.'' Almost choking on his drink he saw her stand up and circle the table getting closer to him.
"Mark for a while now there has been something on my chest, something I was too afraid to talk about thinking you two had something special going on." She tells with some sorrow. "Way before you became a Mayor I saw in you a kindred spirit, someone out of place in a world that isn't yours trying to adjust, someone brave putting on a smile for everyone and rather than close himself, he opened up and went out into the world to embrace everything the world could offer."
Smiling she kneels and place one hand on top of his catching him off guard, "A role model for me to follow, Mark it took me years to figure out why, but each time I saw you I couldn't help but smile."
Remembering Mark finally notices how true that was, every time they spoke, every time they saw each other, to even before he became the mayor, Luna always seemed happy and joyful, even during his time working and speeches she was always in the front row and when talking with all the princesses she always wanted to talk with him again.
"It wasn't until the party where we had that moment that everything finally clicked and later at the hospital, I was overjoyed when I discovered you felt the same." Looking at the clothing Mark’s eyes widened in realization when he notices it was actually a stealth ninja suit. The very same suit Luna wears to heal him that time.
With widened eyes he didn't know what to say as Luna smiled brightly at him once more and then caught him off guard with a kiss. Unlike Twilight this wasn't aggressive or forced, rather it was way gentler and passionate sending him into another memory. One after he and Twilight shared a kiss.
"Could I take the mayor for a moment?" Luna smirks, appearing beside the two with rosy cheeks, surprising them. Still under the influence they can't help but look at one another before laughing.
"Not sure Princess? Can I have it back then?" Twilight jokes before laughing, "Kidding, I know you are not gonna hog him all for yourself." She then starts smooching his neck, "Just be careful, she is a kisser! Honey I'm gonna get another drink, want some?"
"I'm good Twily, thanks." He patted her flank making her flinch and then laugh as she retired. Luna joining in the chuckle.
"Well, seems like someone is mister popular tonight." Luna comments with a smirk.
"Naw, Twily is just being overly friendly that is all. She had a bad break up and I wanted to cheer her up." He whispers the last part as Luna nods.
"Ah yes, Flash Sentry, such a shame, those two made quite the power couple."
"Yes they did, but alas it wasn't meant to be. And all I can do is be a friend and support her, anyway I can."
"Would you do the same for me or my sister?"
"But of course," He smiled and got closer as they start to slow dance, "that is what friends are for, and if you get stubborn and don't want to talk, I can think of ways to loosen your tongue."
"HA, good luck with that, there is no way you could get a word out of me."
"Oh rest assured, I can.~"
"No. You can't."
“Yes, I, can.~”
“No you...Yes! Yes! YES!” The rest of their conversations turn into a blur of images but the next thing Mark recalls is he and Luna sneaking into a near bathroom, lock the door and then ram the princess against the wall, while kissing her like an animal in heat. Then moving fabric until he saw her soaking dark blue panties which he moved to the side to expose her fat pussy which he proceeded to lick as if it was ice-cream. And finally grabbing a good portion of her soft behind as he pokes her ass over and over again while she leans against one of the bathroom doors.
"Oh my, what do we have here? Two perfectly round full moons?" Mark teases her, "What do you say we make them red?"
"Yes! YES! Eclipse my moons! Play with my flanks! Make me feel special!"
"You are special Moony, you are the princess of the night!"
"Oh god, this is so wrong! I shouldn't be doing this. I'm a bad filly!"
"Well if you think so, maybe this bad filly needs a good SPANKING!" Mark started to fuck her harder as the metal door began to bend under the princess’s force as she climaxed.
Returning to reality Luna ended the kiss while Mark could only blink rapidly at the revelation.
Oh dear god! I fucked Luna in the ass!
Chuckling cutely Luna looks away with rosy cheeks taking occasional glances at him. "So w-what do you say Mark? This is so wrong on so many levels, if the general public found out, scandalous would just put it lightly."
Gulping Mark could feel his pants getting tighter as Luna continued getting more adorable as she claps her cheeks together, "But that only makes it more enticing, the thrill of being found out, a forbidding love that no pony can ever find out, and if it happens, the passion of admitting to our four winds! Besides, I know how much you like big flanks, you can't lie Marky!" She tells poking his nose, "So? Don't you want to give US a try?"
"Yes." He responded almost subconsciously and was about to kiss her again, before returning to reality once his box poked his stomach and reminded him that he still held it on his hips. "By all that is hot! I really want to try it b-but I can't." He controled himself making his palm into a fist and bring it closer to his chest confusing Luna.
"W-why? It is obvious we have feelings for one another, who cares what others think?"
"No, isn't that Luna I..." With a sigh he decided to open the box again, "Before we try anything, there is something about me you need to know, a particular scary side of me..."
One explanation later
With a red face Mark virtually stumbled with his own feet as he rushed away from the dining room. Behind him was Luna still kneeling and holding her mouth with both hands as steam was coming out of her head and had erected wings, some pastries and cream cleanly licked off of her chest showing some of her cleavage.
"SORRY! SORRY! SORRY!" Mark kept chanting as he leaves making a sharp turn when he saw Twilight approaching and was about to see him. Following the commotion the princess went into the dinning room while the mayor made his escape.
Dear god I'm an IDIOT! How did this happen twice?!
Celestia
Once more after having calmed down and thought of his actions carefully, Mark marched straight toward Celestia’s room once a guard approached him, by then he already knew the routine and this time he was prepared. Of all the princesses Celestia was the one he needed to speak with the most. What a day, I definitely didn't expect to know so much about Luna and Twilight and even less having to reveal my dark side to them. I hope they are okay. A long tear slid from his right eye.
With any luck we might go back to normal, perhaps even pretend this didn't happen. But for now... He looks up at the door in front of him ...I need to see if my gut feeling is right, and if it is... He takes a glance at his wooden box. I might have just found the one that could really accept all of me.
Knocking this time, Mark was slightly startle when the doors didn't open by themselves and instead only receive confirmation from the princess on the other side. "It's open, please come on in Mark."
Nervous, the human walks inside and closes the door behind him. The bedroom was just as he remembered, an imposing chimney in the middle of the room providing a source of heat, a very spacious and fluffy pink bed opposite to the chimney rest on the other wall, a door must likely connected to a bathroom was in the corner, there was books and a bookshelf in another, and even complete furniture to sit and drink coffee and some work papers were scattered in a particular spacious room with a balcony at the far end.
In said balcony princess Celestia was giving him her back while she was busy feeding her pet phoenix Philomena before turning around to address the mayor.
"So glad to see you Mark." She smiled warmly at him before taking a look at his cast, "How is your arm doing?"
"Just as good as when you treat it." He replied with a chuckle before removing it as it was a globe and placing it on a nearby table, "According to the doctors I could 'take it off' next week." He added with a smirk.
"It was you who insisted that it needs to be healed naturally, Mark." Celestia shot back as she petted her bird one last time before releasing her so she could fly away.
"I remember a certain princess telling and I quote 'I will not take a no for an answer'."
"And I stand by it." They continued as they approached the sofa and couch to sit, where Mark put his box in a table between the two next to his fake cast. "After all that you went through, healing your arm was the least you deserve, no matter if the public will find suspicious how miraculous fast the recovery was." She then sighed when recalling something, "I still can't believe you barely took any credit and tried to pin all that happened on me. As I didn't have enough titles as it is."
Mark laughs at that remark, "Sorry Celly it was a necessary evil, to keep appearance. I'm not sure Canterlot is ready for a super strong mayor that can blast walls like they are made of paper."
"But they are ready for a princess that apparently can see into the future?" She reply with a raise eyebrow.
"But...you CAN see the future."
"Well yeah but only glimpses of it while I'm asleep and it involves world changing topics. And that is beside the point!" She shouted and after a little while they both laugh at their back and forward.
"This feels nice, us just talking some small jabs at each other. If we only had tea this would be a perfect evening." Celestia mentions before using her magic to start setting the sun.
"Yeah, I like it too, it feels nice not having that tension between us anymore, that is part of the reason why I decided to stay."
"And I am very happy to hear it." Celestia nods with a smile and continues her job until the sun sets completely and then sighs. "But as much as I don't want to. The more we put the subject off, the harder it is gonna be." Taking something out her pocket Celestia places the piercing on the table. Mark remains to stare at it before looking at her.
"Curious, I imagined you’d be wearing it again at this point."
With a defeated sigh she closes her eyes and lowers her head, "I know there is no point in denying it now, but what exactly gave me away."
It was Mark's turn to fish out of his pocket and show her a long white feather. "Found it on my dirty sheets, when I was unpacking. With all the chaos I forgot to do my laundry and by the time Luna helped me pack, this was just stuck to the fabric, looks like your early preening season left one small trail for me to follow."
She can't help but chuckle at the revelation and shake her head, "Unbelievable, after I try so hard not letting any trace behind I was exposed by a feather."
"Well that and your belly button piercing. Have to say, never pictured you for a mare that would like those kinds of things."
Celestia laughs more openly at that comment, "Oh what can I say, I was feeling daring, Luna and I were on vacation, I was ready to let my mane loose and experience the world without holding back and between that and a tattoo a piercing sounded more enticing." She then cleared her throat "It’s...not the belly button by the way."
"It’s not?"
With rosy cheeks she pretends to cough and look away, "Try lower...and more sensitive."
"Oh? OH!" His eyes widen in shock before looking at the piece before looking at her again. "No!"
"Like I said, I was feeling daring! Was a bit drunk and I'm pretty sure Luna dared me, immediately regretted it when I researched how high maintenance that thing is. In a way I should be thanking you for taking it off!"
"Oh dear god, I hope I didn't hurt you!" He mentions in worry.
"Oh not at all, your... ahem...cunnilingus was particularly extraordinary, that is all. Didn't even realize it was gone until you showed it to me." Now both of them were blushing hard at that, "Some of those techniques, how did you learn them?"
"One can get a bit lonely exploring the world alone Celly, don't worry there weren't many but...there were those that kept me company in the past. None of them lasted if you’re wondering."
"I see, so sad to hear that but at least you can treasure their memories, right?"
"Tia.." He suddenly addresses her using her nickname, "You are stalling, please don't do it, it would only make this whole thing more tense than it needs to be."
She only remains quiet and keeps her gaze down, "I know, but how this mess started, how things kept happening so fast in front of our eyes. The things we say, what we discover. The fear, the shame, the shock, I..."
She looks up at him once more, "I just don't want to end our friendship Mark." She looks up to see him in the eyes, "Can't I just be another one of those ladies? A moment of weakness between the two, under the influence of a drug?"
"If that’s what you want, I will respect your wish." Mark stood up and kneeled in front of her before grabbing her hand, "But only if you can look me in the eyes and honestly tell me that this is how you want to end things between us."
"Mark please, please don't make me say it." She begged him, starting to get teary eyes.
"Don't you at least give it a try. I truly believe that night drug or not there was a connection between the two. We can take as much time as we need to figure things out, but don't you want to see if that is possible?"
She remains quite too afraid to respond. Getting an idea Mark stood up, "I understand, then allow me to make things easier." She looks at him with curiosity as he get closer
"One kiss."
"What?!" She ask perplex and blinking rapidly.
"You heard me, one last kiss, if you can at least give me that and then tell me you feel no attraction whatsoever, that would be it. You will be right, it was just a moment of weakness between the two, and we will not speak of this ever again."
"And if there is?"
Mark smiled and took a glance at the box he brought with him before looking at the princess again, "Then promise me that you will consider going out for a drink with me, no strings attached, just two friends sharing a drink."
She looks unsure and thinks about, "It will only be one kiss?"
"That’s all I ask you."
Celestia thinks it over for a moment before nodding. With that decided they close their eyes and get closer to one another as their lips part, Mark could feel her breath on his face as their mouths were inches away until finally they made contact and began to make out.
The reaction was instantaneous as they feel electricity coursing through their bodies, as the kiss starts to get more intense and their lips unconsciously part to dive deeper, before they realize it they were hugging and exploring each others mouth for what felt like an eternity until the need for air was too much to bear they break apart connected by one single string of saliva. Smiling at each other while panting, Mark was the first one to recover.
"So? Is there really nothing...?" Celestia stops him by placing a single finger on his mouth.
"I don't know what this is, and I fear this is wrong in so many ways." She grabs his other hand and interlocks their fingers, "But I know one thing, I want us to figure things out together."
"I would love that too." They come closer into a hug and enjoy each others company until there was a knock on the door, and before they had a chance to do something, it open revealing a pissed off Twilight and Luna who were wearing trench coats for some reason, looking around their eyes land on Mark still hugging Celestia as they invite themselves in.
"Oh good, you’re here," Luna said with a neutral tone, "we need to talk mister."
Realizing he was still holding Celestia he let her go and raised his hands, "Luna wait, I know how this looks but you need to understand."
"Oh no!" Twilight doesn't let him finish as she used her magic to lift him up and force him to sit on the couch confusing Celestia, "Now it’s OUR time to talk."
"Luna? Twilight? What has gotten into you?" Celestia questions standing up and looking at one another in confusion.
"It didn't go as planned sister, looks like the mayor needs a more clearer sign."
"What?" They both ask at the same time as Luna pick up the box and show it context to Celestia who gasp immediately, "After we expose our hearts to him, everything was going fine until he shows us this and ask us if we’re really okay dating someone with this kind of preference." Luna explains, as Celestia slowly turns toward him. "Assuming we would be fragile maidens that would get scared of a riding crop."
"Did he now?"
"Tia I swear their confession came out of nowhere and I...I didn't know what to say I...I got interested" He finally confessed, "But I didn't want to scare them or take advantage I wanted to warn them and...wait what plan?" He stood up and looked at them confused, "What signs? What is goin-?"
"I said it’s OUR turn to talk!" Twilight repeated and forced him back into the couch, "You have some nerve mister," She poke his chest with one finger, "putting quite a detailed image in our heads, and making us shiver to the core with the things you would do to us if we would start a relationship, scaring us like no one has ever done before."
"I was only trying to warn you and...I got carried away. I'm sorry!" He admit in shame.
"Oh you should be," Standing back Twilight let Luna have her turn next, "you left before either Twilight or I could answer, you ask us if we could handle that. Well Mister," They start to undress in front of him, "This answer your question?"
Completely speechless, Mark is shocked when both princesses reveal that underneath their trench coats Twilight was wearing almost nothing but a dog collar, nylon white long socks and gloves with purple rings. Exposing her erect and big breast as well as her petty, slightly bushed and soaking wet pussy, while Luna seems to be wearing what Mark could only describe as a full body net suit that pressed all of her body in the right places exposing her magnificent huge breast and fat pussy with her pube trims to resemble a crescent moon for him to see, both mares looking at him with lustful eyes and red faces from exposing themselves like that.
Exchanging glances Mark could only look with a slack jawed mouth before looking at Celestia in surprise.
"Tia I..."
"Answer her." She orders before snapping her fingers and making her clothes disappear joining the other princess, her suit similar to Luna seems to be a type made of green leather that hugged her body and left out her huge breasts and firm long shaved pussy, just as wet as the other two. "Do you really think we can't handle it? For how I see things, it was us that should be asking that." She smirks and passed the riding crop to him, "Tell us Mr. Mayor, think you could handle all 3 of us?"
"I know you want to try." Twilight comments with a smirk before transforming into Moonlight for a second before going back to her original form.
"You! You were that pegasus back then?" In surprise Mark stood up and pointed at her slightly annoyed before looking at the princess, "And then you told them!? Twilight the whole point of that was to be private!"
"I'm sorry Mr. Mayor, are you mad?" She suddenly acts shyly and turns around to exposé her plump ass, "Are you gonna spank me?" She pounded while bringing a hand to her mouth to keep the act going.
Gulping and feeling his pants about to explode Mark has to take a deep breath before speaking up once more with more authority. "Oh I'm gonna do more than that." He cracks the crop making all the mares flinch at the action, "Just know, I warned you." He then points at Luna, "Close and lock the door while putting on a silence spell. I don't want anyone to hear your screams."
Getting excited Luna nods rapidly and complies as Mark starts to issue orders to the other mares who were equally eager to start.
And so, drunk in their lust, the group lose the notion of time as they engage in an intense sexual session in which they practice all sort of positions without any holding back.
"I can't believe my eyes~" Mark smirked as he watch how the 3 princesses were taking turns to suck his dick and each of his balls, "The prestigious and regal princesses of Equestria at my feet sucking me off like common whores." He says starting to pet their heads, "If the general public were to see you now, I bet half of the world would be having a mental breakdown. Not a single pony must found out!"
Giggling they shiver at his speech, "This never leaves the room." He grabs Luna’s hair and pulls it so she stood up to see him at eye level, "Not a soul can ever find out how you are secret whores that like to sucks dicks like there is no tomorrow!"
"Not any dicks." Luna corrects and feeling them stop Mark see the other two agree as Luna hug his side, "Only yours!~" She exclaims in want as they make out and force him to sit down.
Changing positions he starts to eat pussy while fisting Celestia while using his riding rod to fuck Luna as they both suck and kiss Twilight passionately. "Such a curious mare, getting turned on by wanting to know more. Spreading her legs so easily once she figured something new about myself." He stopped to look at her as Twilight continued moaning in the princess treatment as they pinch and play with her nipples, standing up. Twilight gasps when Mark starts to play with her clit using his dick. "You know I'm also kind of curious, I wonder if you are a squitter. Let's find out shall we?~"
Losing her breath he slowly inserted himself on her finding resistance as Celestia and Luna spread her labial, the former even inserting a finger to play with Twilight even more. The sisters laugh at Twilight’s expression while Mark gets deeper and deeper. "My god so tight, so wet. You might no longer be a virgin Twilight but your pussy is quite something!"
He looks at the sisters, "But don't worry you two are also delicious and enticing, can't wait to have a taste."
"Why wait?" Luna smirks as she looms over Twilight and raises her ass so he could see her expose clit, making him lick his lips.
"Good girl."
Things kept escalating as the night progressed and the love making kept getting intense. From forming a square with Twilight lifted in the air so Celestia could make out while Luna kissing her other lips, as Mark ate and fucked the royal sisters. To him sucking both of their breasts while playing with their assholes while Twilight sucks him off and fingered the two.
To them taking turns with Mark while the other two tend to one another.
"My god why does it feel even greater now?!" Mark was staring at a panting and with messy bed hair Celestia as he keep pounding her pussy they where grabbing hands as they keep staring lovingly at one another.
"Because you were right, there was something there, all my previous partners, kept treating me like I was made of glass, or feel unworthy of me." Celestia laughed at the memory "Usually I was the one holding the road." She let go and grabbed a riding crop, "But I have to say, being on the other end of it, made me realize how much I loooove it!~" She sighed in content as Mark smiled and took it before slapping the side of her flank right in her cutie mark. She scream in delight and sighed again. "Please...harder, no need to hold back."
Smirking he got closer to her ear, "We are gonna a need a safe word for that."
Celestia shivers at the idea and then by him biting her ear as they continue.
"Yes! Yes! YES!" Luna keep screaming at the top of her lungs as she eat Twilight while Mark fucked her in the ass. Celestia was currently beneath Luna licking the mayor balls and Luna’s pussy.
"Such a whore, loving anal this much!" Mark smirks and keeps using the instrument to leave another mark on her ass, "Oh Luna, your ass is something else, can't believe you prefer this to your other hole. It's usually the other way around."
She shakes her head making Twilight climax before speaking up, "That hole is reserved for a special occasion, but do not fret my lover." She flutters her eyelashes at him, "When the time comes I will gladly spread my legs for you. Until then feel free to use my ass as you please."
Not needing more encouragement Mark redoubles his efforts as Luna feels herself reaching her climax and finger her sister more intensely as a result.
Their deprived activities kept on going until the 3 were completely spent, soaking wet in their sweat and other bodily fluids as they couldn't do anything else but to rest in bed. Celestia hugging his head tight in between her breasts, Luna on the other side resting her head on his shoulder and Twilight laying on top of him using his chest as a pillow.
"We did it so much, and yet I'm not that tired." Mark comments surprised he had manage to last this long, making all the princess giggle.
"Love always finds a way." Luna mentions while nuzzling his frame, "I could feel it, you truly didn't want any of us to feel left out, you endured. And did everything in your power to satisfy us."
"While opening our eyes to a new type of world and your true nature." Celestia continue doing the same, "And we couldn't feel more happy for that."
"Remind me to return the favor." The mares looked at him confused, "No I mean it, you 3 were so kind in letting me live my fantasy, and dear god was that spectacular. So if you had one of your own? As long as it doesn't involve my ass, me receiving pain or another stallion involved I would gladly assist those are my only no-no’s."
They giggle and nod before resting their heads again, "Thank you dear, we will let you know if something comes up."
He smiles and starts petting the frames of Celestia and Luna making them purr in content. "We also must be careful, it was not only dirty talk speaking, no one can ever find out about us. And I don't want to leave you hanging Twily, you are leaving soon and I don't want the ordeal to be a sad one."
"It's ok Mark, there is such a thing as a long distant relationship. I'm sure we can find a way." She mentions keeping her eyes closed. Nodding he rests his head on the bed again.
"Yeah, and who knows maybe we could think of something like a schedule or a list." Immediately after saying those words Twilight eyes open and wide.
"A way to organize ourselves a little, and see each other more frequently, maybe plan some romantic escapes pretending it is a meeting or something. Oh and we can tell Drusy, don't worry she can keep a SeCRET!"
In surprise he looked down and saw how Twilight had climbed on top of him and was now lining his dick on her pussy, her mane was slowly turning red and she had hearts in her eyes.
"Uh..Twily?" Shock Twilight summons a stamina boost potion and forces him to drink it as she licks her lips. "Sorry my love, but tonight you are not gonna sleep!"
Once he drank it, Twilight tosses the bottle and starts making out with him intensely while his dick gets absorbed by her pussy whose suction seems to have increased and refuses to let go as she keeps thrusting forward with force. The royal sisters watching that happening were unsure what to do until Mark started to finger them and moaning their manes also changed and they joined the fun rocking the bed constantly.
"Don't worry dear, I promise not a single soul would find out about us unless we tell them." Celestia reassures him while kissing his cheek.
"Indeed, we are the master of stealth, there is nopony in Equus who would even suspect a thing." Luna adds in confidence helping him calm down as the mares proceed to cover him in lipstick kisses.
The next morning at the train station
The first arrival of the day enters the station and whistles announcing its arrival. In front of the train a small squad of guards saluted, while a tall pink pony emerged from the door. She was wearing a egg white long sleeveless dress, with a golden corset that matched her long golden necklace with a crystal heart emblem in the center, that accentuate her F size breast, her mane was a mix of 3 colors of light yellow and two tunes of purple and in her right hand there was a wedding ring.
"Welcome to Canterlot your highness, hope your trip was a pleasant one." The leader of the guard spoke up.
"It was, thank you for receiving me gentle stallions and please just call me..."
