Chapter 1

“Anything else, Princess?” Snowy grumbled through a forced smile.

Peering down at the little kirin mare, as demure and tranquil as ever, Princess Celestia nodded. “That will be all, Snowy. As always, thank you for your hard work.”

Snowy gave a halfhearted bow, turned, and trotted to the exit of the throne room. Her day, much like every other day after she’d returned from Ponyville, had been a busy one. She’d been up since the crack of dawn, her cloven hooves ached, and she could feel the trace of a headache coming on, probably because she’d skipped lunch, but at least she was done for the day. Proceeding out and into the hallway, she slowed.

A part of her wanted to go back to her room for some rest, although her stomach was quite loudly insisting she go and get something to eat. Almost begrudgingly, dreading going into one of the more active parts of the castle, she wandered in the direction of the cafeteria. While everypony had treated her well since she’d gotten back to Canterlot, her circumstances made her a veritable magnet for attention.

With so much to wrap her head around, she was almost thankful that she was kept so busy - not because she liked wearing herself thin, but because she didn’t have much time to dwell on her situation. She’d been transformed from a tall, in her opinion decently good-looking human man into a small, fluffy, kirin mare, and her life had been changed forever - sure, Rain Shine, the mare responsible for her metamorphosis, claimed it would be possible to reverse the transformation, but apparently the ingredients needed for such a potion were rare and would take quite some time to find. Drifting around a corner and nearly bumping into a guard, she was shaken from her thoughts.

“Sorry, Aegis,” she reflexively muttered.

The pony, an armed and armored unicorn stallion, stiffened. “Only been here a week and you already know my name? You’ve either got one heck of a memory or I somehow made an impression!”

Willing herself to smirk, she trotted by him. “I’m just good with names - that’s all.”

Continuing onward, she grimaced. Save for Celestia and Luna, there wasn’t a pony in Canterlot who knew the truth of who she was. As far as the general public was concerned, the Princesses had discovered a way to send Anon back to Earth, to the home he’d been torn from, and it was purely a coincidence that Snowy Glow had been employed as part of a cultural enrichment program. The explanation for the man’s disappearance and her sudden arrival was actually quite believable, especially since the two oldest and most renown alicorns on the planet had given it credence - still, it was far from perfect.

While everypony may have presumed Anon was gone forever, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. She was Anon, at least mentally for the most part, although she wasn’t about to tell anypony that. It had been bad enough that she’d lost her height, dangly bits, and fingers, but there was no way in Tartarus that she was going to have ponies thinking she’d been changed into a mare voluntarily - for buck’s sake, she hadn’t asked for this?!?

As her ears swiveled back, hearing hooffalls moving up behind her, she scrunched her snout. “Yeah?”

“It is Snowy ~ right?” Aegis inquired, moving up alongside her.

“Eeeeeyup,” she grunted, attempting not to sound testy.

The centurion smiled as he kept pace with her. “All done for the day?”

“That’s the hope,” she flatly responded. “Just going to go get something to eat, preferably in a to-go bag, then head back to my quarters.”

“Gotcha gotcha,” he noted, nodding sagely.

Keeping her eyes forward, she remained silent. She was used to standing out, having spent nearly a year in the Canterlot as Anon the human, but something about being a kirin mare was different. Ponies were prone to approach her and chat with her, the looks she got lacked the concern and trepidation they’d held when she was a man, and it wasn’t uncommon for her to catch guards, castle staff, or the general public staring at her in awe. Hanging a left and proceeding down a small flight of stairs, she sniffed at the air.

Though she was still at least a hundred yards from the cafeteria, she could already tell what was on the menu: grilled carrots, kale smoothies, garden salad, stir fried tofu, and pumpkin - no, sweet potato pie. She’d been stuck as a kirin for nearly a month, two weeks in Ponyville and a week in Canterlot, and she was still amazed with just how darn acute her senses were. As she licked her lips, her mouth set to watering.

“So…” Aegis continued, prompting her to glance over at him, “got any plans for your weekend?”

Refusing to give him her full attention, she shook her head. “Other than maybe a trip to the library, no.”

“Well - um - if you’re not doing anything…” he trailed off, falling behind her.

She screwed her eyes shut and sighed. While she’d apparently caught a number of stallions’ eyes, it was painfully obvious that Aegis had a particular interest in her. He’d accidentally bumped into her on a number of occasions, seemingly went out of his way to tell her hello, and he always seemed eager to start conversations with her, but therein lay a problem; he’d been pleasant to her when she’d been Anon, although he was particularly friendly to her now that she was Snowy.

Taking off his helmet and cradling it under one foreleg, he cleared his throat. “Just out of curiosity, do you wanna get dinner one -”

“No,” she interrupted, wheeling around to face him. “Aegis, listen, you seem like a really sweet stallion, but I just got here and there’s a lot to take in - besides, I don’t want to get into trouble if I’m seen going out on a date with one of the royal guards.”

The dejected look on his face was painful, like that of a kicked puppy, and she genuinely felt bad for turning him down - that said, it was for the good of them both. Seeing as how she had no intention of spending the rest of her life as a mare, pursuing romance in her current state would be messy at best and catastrophic at worst for everypony involved. Stepping closer to him, she reached out and patted his shoulder.

“I really do appreciate it though,” she softly added, running her hoof up his neck and to his jaw. “Maybe we can do a coffee or something instead ~ alright?”

A glimmer of hope flickered in his eyes, the corners of his lips turned up, and he gave her a nod. “You know what, I think I can live with that. Enjoy your meal, Snowy.”

Watching him turn and trot away, she waved. “Don’t work too hard!”

He smirked back at her as he donned his helmet. “Unless there’s another changeling invasion, I don’t plan on it!”

Shaking her head, she waited until he was out of sight to look back to the cafeteria’s doors. Simply adjusting to her body had been a trial, but having to put up an act, pretending not to know anypony, was downright grueling. She had to constantly remind herself that she was supposedly a newcomer who didn’t know where she was going, who she was talking to, or where anything in town was, so it wasn’t her fault for accidentally slipping up from time to time.

As she trotted into the staff dining hall, her tummy grumbled in anticipation. The food didn’t just smell better than it used to, it tasted better too! Weaving past several tables, finding herself fortunate that the place was practically empty, she stopped at the serving line and surveyed the array of victuals. Her nose had been absolutely spot on, having determined what was to eat well before she’d laid eyes on the food, which brought a smile to her face.

“What can I get you, ma’am?” a server asked, hurrying from the kitchen.

“Hey, Björn,” she smoothly began, recognizing his voice. “I’ll have a -”

“How…how did you know my name?” he chirped.

Tearing her eyes off the cuisine, she stared over at him. “I - uh - must have seen you the other day.”

He slowly shook his head while holding her gaze. “No…no, that can’t be it. I just got back from vacation last night.”

Peering up at the ceiling, she thoughtfully tapped her chin to buy herself some time. Darn it - this was bad! It was going to take one humdinger of a lie to explain why she’d known what to call him, but she’d concocted a few fail-safes just for just such an occasion. She conspiratorially looked over her shoulder and around herself before leaning forward and waving him closer.

“I’m special intelligence,” she whispered to him. “Rain Shine, my ruler, allowed Princess Celestia to borrow me for my services. There isn’t much I don’t know…”

The stallion, a rather sturdy earth pony, went rigid and anxiously nodded. “I swear by the Sisters, I won’t tell a soul.”

“I’m sure you won’t, big guy,” she tittered, shooting him a wink and what would have been a finger gun. “Anyhow - can I get some of that tofu, a smoothie, and two pieces of sweet potato pie to go?”

Nodding and reaching beneath the counter, he retrieved a waxed cardboard take-away box. “Will do, ma’am!”

He made short work of getting everything together, going so far as to separate the dessert from the entree with a piece of parchment paper, and presented her bag and drink in a matter of seconds. Taking her order, she nodded her thanks and made her leave. One good thing about the uniqueness of her position was that nopony other than herself or the Princesses could honestly say what her job entailed - meaning she could bend the truth with little or no push-back; she didn’t consider it lying per se, since she was both special and held some modicum of intelligence, though she tried to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.

Briskly strolling down winding corridors and up to the residential wing, she only stopped when she reached the door of her room. As she opened the door and peered inside, a trace of melancholy settled over her. While nothing had changed in her room, it felt unfamiliar. The bed was too high for her now, it smelled odd, and the clothes she’d gradually collected for herself were as good as useless - nevertheless, her suite was still a place of privacy and comfort.

Trotting in and kicking the door closed behind herself, she ascended the stepping stool beside her bed and climbed atop her mattress. Though Celestia had insisted she continue work, giving her perilously little time to adjust to being back in Canterlot, she had been kind enough to make her living quarters livable. Aside from getting her a vanity she could actually use, the Princess had given her a folding stool so she could easily lock her door and access her otherwise oversized furniture.

“Oh yeah,” she hummed to herself, opening the to-go box and staring down at the fried tofu and vegetable medley.

Ignoring a pair of chopsticks, she clumsily grabbed a fork, went to spear a bite, and froze. She was hungry as heck - starved even, but she couldn’t bring herself to wolf down her dinner. Setting the utensil aside, she took a deep breath and concentrated. There were a number of things about her body that annoyed her, from her diminutive size to how long it took to wash and dry her mane, but the worst was the obstinate, bony protrusion jutting from her crown.

She set her jaw and leered at a little brick of glistening, steaming tofu. Kirin had horns and the ability to use magic - for crying out loud, she’d used her magic immediately after her transformation, yet getting her arcane powers to obey her seemed to be an insurmountable task. Pursing her lips, she slowly exhaled while staring at the food.

It was brief, so fast that she couldn’t say if she’d imagined it or not, but she could swear that she saw a cyan aura flicker around her meal. Redoubling her efforts, she clenched her teeth and put every ounce of her effort into concentrating. It may have been a small, almost trivial accomplishment, but merely levitating food into her mouth would be quite the accomplishment! A strange buzzing grew louder and louder in her head, her vision tunneled, and she gnashed her teeth, refusing to give up, until everything went to heck in a hand-basket.

The main course exploded - literally exploded, showering her, her bed sheets, and her carpet with blasted bits of soy product and vegetables. Staring deadpan at the wall, she numbly reached up and guided a bit of tofu sliding down her muzzle into her mouth. As if to add insult to injury, the food she’d just unintentionally detonated tasted amazing.

What had simply been weariness was overtaken by rage in an instant. Jumping to her hooves and mopping the dregs of stir fry from her face, she scowled down at the blasted carton. The pie had been saved, but most of her meal was now decorating her, her bed, and the ceiling.

“Stupid flipping - Ugh!” she barked, grabbing her horn. “Why the buck won’t you work! It shouldn’t be that hard, you - Raaaaaaagh!”

She didn’t notice her coat taking on an umbral hue, nor was she aware of the crimson-streaked, cerulean flames bursting around her hooves, tail, and mane until it was too late. The blanket around her crackled and went alight, filling the air with an acrid smoke, while she furiously stomped in impotent rage. It wasn’t until she coughed, feeling her lungs burn, that she became aware of what she’d done.

“Hecking darn it!” she bleated, jumping from the mattress and promptly face-planting on the floor.

There was a veritable laundry list of risks when it came to being a kirin, but being consumed by one’s anger was by far the most hazardous. If pushed so far, her kind could and occasionally would transform into what was known as a nirik - an infernal alter-ego that was as dangerous as it was imposing. Scrambling to her hooves, she rushed to the corner, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and doused her smoldering bed.

She dropped the canister once it had gone dry and broke into a coughing fit. Great, just bucking perfect - not only had she ruined something she’d been looking forward to, but she’d made a spectacular mess and ruined her bedspread in the process. With a resigned sigh, she cantered to her window, opened it, and began billowing her curtains to clear the air.

Knock Knock Knock

“Kinda busy!” she shouted.

“Snowy, is everything ok in there?” somepony, likely just a passerby, yelled. “I smell smoke and -”

“It’s fine!” she snapped, sensing her ire rising to the flash point.

Closing her eyes, she steadied her breathing and did what she could to slow her thundering heart. Her every sense was an order of magnitude stronger than what a human could perceive, she could technically wield sorcery, and she could become the embodiment of wrath if she got ticked off enough - it was insane, and it was made all the worse by the impulses she struggled to contain. With a scowl on her face, she stomped over to her bed.

One of the most infuriating things about her predicament was that her body had inclinations which ran contrary to her common sense. In an all but actual way, it was like who she was fighting who she’d become. She used to be a guy, straight as an arrow with zero interest in any creature with a dick, but the marish parts of her brain had developed a very distinct interest in stallions - particularly big, muscular, mohawked one’s who’d -

“Nnnnngh,” she testily growled, shaking her head to dislodge the lecherous and wholly unwanted thoughts from her mind.

Still grappling with the concept of having a quickie with a pegasus she’d known for a whopping ten minutes, she did not want to entertain the notion of sharing her singed bed with yet another stud - not for the least of which reasons being the risk of making a slatternly name for herself. If there was one thing she didn’t need, it was stallions in the castle thinking she was easy. As she grabbed and pulled on her blanket, sending what was left of her stir-fry and her two slices of pie flying, her patience with everything finally broke.

Bolting into her bathroom, knowing she was about to combust, she jumped into her shower and turned the water on full blast. She was way, way too peeved to think clearly, but she had the common sense to save her suite and avert a calamity. Though the frigid shower was enough to suppress her indignation and the conflagration wreathing her, it did nothing to improve her mood.

Seeing no reason not to, she washed herself, rinsed off, and stepped out of her tub with a clearer head. While she was no longer angry, she was weary on every appreciable level. Her day had been long, she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, and now she had a mess to tend to. As she dried herself off and wondered what she was going to do with herself that evening, an idea hit her.

Given that she had the next two days off work, since the castle’s formal operations were typically suspended throughout the weekend, she spontaneously decided to treat herself to a small outing. Getting some fresh air, stretching her legs, and picking up something deliciously unhealthy to much on would be just what the doctor ordered to salvage her afternoon. Her mind was made up in an instant and she smiled to herself as she remade her bed.

Fortunately for her, having something to look forward to gave her all the motivation she needed to get her room tidied up. Seeing herself out and locking up behind herself, carrying her ruined linens on her back, she began her trek out of the keep. Living in Canterlot could be a hassle at times, but one of the benefits of being in the capital was that there were all sorts of restaurants and specialty shops within trotting distance.

She slowed when she passed through portcullis and into the city proper, weighing her options. Considering she’d never been one for opulent meals, she ultimately settled on something simple - a big, greasy hayburger, sweet potato fries, and perhaps a milkshake to finish off her meal. Salivating at the thought of her impending dinner, she trotted away from the keep and to the downtown district - that was until somepony shouted behind her.

“Snowy!” a familiar voice called.

Though she was tempted to ignore him, knowing it was Aegis without having to look at him, she looked back. Had he been anypony else, she wouldn’t have paid him any mind, yet that wasn’t the case. She’d known him before she’d turned into a kirin, prior to the existence of Snowy Glow, and she’d considered him a decently close friend.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he chuckled, cantering up to her side.

“Could say the same about you,” she countered, wistfully smiling up at him. “Done for the day?”

Smirking down at her, he shrugged. “Oh yeah, and I am bushed.”

Her eyes wandered over him, drinking in his unarmored features. He was a hair taller than most stallions and well-built to boot, even compared to most of the other royal guards, but he was a gentle giant. His golden eyes radiated kindness, countering his formidable physique, and he always seemed to be in decent spirits around her - even when she’d been a human guy. Looking back to his face, she brushed a lock of mane away from her eyes.

“Guessing you’re going on an errand?” she inquired, shifting her weight and lazily continuing onward.

As he trotted along next to her, he shook his head. “Not unless you count getting a bite and something to drink an errand, no. How about yourself?”

“I was thinking the same thing, minus the drink part,” she replied.

Grinning over at her, he reached out and gently pressed a hoof to her shoulder. “I know I hinted at it earlier, but would you like to join me?” he asked. “Before you ask, it would be my treat.”

“This isn’t a date ~ is it?” she quipped, shrugging off his forehoof.

“Hey hey hey ~ who said anything about a date?” he laughed. “This is just two ponies - er - a pony and a kirin going out for dinner - no ulterior motives, no romance, nothing crazy.”

She should have held her ground and turned him down, politely passing on his offer, but the idea of a free meal with some decent company was too good to pass up. Stopping in her tracks, she faced him and extended a hoof. It would be nice to have somepony she could talk with, doubly so if it was somepony she worked around, although she’d really rather avoid the stallion getting the wrong impression about her.

“Just dinner,” she intoned.

Shaking her proffered hoof, he set his brow and gave a firm nod. “Just dinner and some friendly chatting - I swear by the sisters.”

“I guess all that leaves is where to eat,” she noted, withdrawing her foreleg. “Burgers sound good to you?”

“You read my mind,” he hummed, waving her forward.

Leading the way, she trotted down the sidewalk and to one of her favorite establishments - The Pony Express. The place wasn’t anything to fancy, basically a diner, but they served some darn good grub. As she saw herself inside the restaurant, her nostrils were assailed with the most heavenly aroma.

Slowing, Aegis motioned over to one side of the dining area. “Corner booth work for you?”

She nodded and waved him ahead. They didn’t have to wait to be seated, which meant they could grab any table that was open. Not two seconds after they both seated themselves, a portly mare wearing an apron trotted over with a little notebook in her forehoof.

“What can I get for y’all?” the server asked.

“I’ll take a southern deluxe hayburger, extra tofu bacon and slaw, with a side of sweet potato fries,” Snowy immediately stated.

Somewhat taken aback, Aegis gawked over at her. “You been here before?”

“I - uh…” she faltered. “No, but one of the maids recommended this meal.”

“Well it does sound pretty good - in fact, if I remember right, Anon used to get the same thing when he’d come here,” he admitted. “You know what, I’ll take the same thing - oh and can I get a cider to go with it?”

“Sure can,” the waitress coolly remarked. “Can I get you something to drink, Missy?”

Moments from ordering a glass of iced tea, Snowy changed her mind. With the frustrating day behind her, having a hard cider might just help her forget about her woes and relax a bit - that and it wasn’t like she was paying for the meal. Throwing her reservations to the wind, she glanced over at the guard.

Possibly sensing what she was thinking, he cocked his head. “Want to get a pitcher?”

“Buck it,” she sighed. “That works for me.”

“You sure?” he pressed. “The cider here is pretty strong.”

“I guess that settles it,” she mused. “Put us down for a pitcher.”

Jotting everything down, the server nodded and proceeded back to the kitchen area. “It’ll only be a minute, you two.”

“Thanks,” he called before turning his attention over to his company. “So how’s everything been going with the Princesses?”

Reclining in her seat, she tapped the digits of one hoof on the table. “Aside from being busy all the time, it’s been ok.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that’d be the case,” he grumbled. “They worked Anon pretty hard when he was there.”

Hearing the name she’d gone by for most of her life, her ears perked up. “Anon the human?”

“The one and only - at least I think he was the only one,” Aegis mused. “It’s still hard to believe he’s gone ~ ya know?”

She cast her eyes downward as she was hit with a vague sense of melancholy. “Yeah, I can believe it. From what I heard, he just sort of - Poof - disappeared.”

“Pretty much,” he murmured. “I just kinda wish I could have told him goodbye - sure, we may not have been super close or anything, but it was nice shooting the breeze with him from time to time. Wherever he is, I hope he’s doing alright for himself…”

She quietly grunted in response. It was both unsettling and saddening to hear him talking about her, the person she’d used to be, in such a way. As much as she wanted to tell him the truth, to confess that Anon was sitting right in front of him, that would open up a can of worms she had no desire to deal with. Lifting her head, she peered over at him, reached out, and softly patted his foreleg.

“I might not have had the chance to meet him, but I’m sure he’s doing ok,” she whispered. “And if he’s half the guy I think he was, I bet he wishes he could have told you and everypony else he knew goodbye.”

Her remark caused a faint smile to split Aegis’ muzzle. “Yeah, he was a good guy, even if he was a little weird.”

“Weird?” she quipped, peaking a brow. “How so?”

“Other than his looks, he was just kinda funny,” he snickered. “Had all these weird habits and quirks.”

With her curiosity piqued, she leaned forward. “Such as…?”

“He’d wear clothes all the time - like constantly,” he explained. “Honestly, I can’t see how he could stand being dressed up all day.”

“Huh,” she grunted. Getting a candid take on her old self was a unique experience, one that was too good to pass up, and she couldn’t help but dig a little deeper. “Did he have any other quirks?”

Aegis thought for a moment then nodded. “A few, yeah. He’d occasionally talk about these things called cars that were supposedly some sort of motorized carriage - crazy, I know. Other than some of his wacky claims about his homeland, he wasn’t that strange.”

Relieved that she hadn’t been bashed too harshly, she slowly exhaled. “Well that’s good.”

“Plus he had pretty good tastes for a human,” he continued. “It didn’t happen all that often, but I’d occasionally notice him eyeing the Princesses or the mares around the castle. He wasn’t a creep or anything, but the guy definitely wasn’t as subtle as he could have been - oh!”

“Here’s your cider,” the waitress stated, depositing a pitcher and two glasses onto the table. “Your order should be up shortly. Just let me know if there’s -”

“Wait a sec,” Snowy interrupted, holding up a hoof. “Aegis, you wanna make a toast to Anon?”

“A toast?” the stallion parroted.

“Yeah,” she affirmed. “To his memory and to wish him good luck.”

Smiling broader than ever, he looked over to the server. “Can we get two shots of brandy?”

“Course you can,” the waitress responded. “Just gimme a second.”

“You didn’t strike me as much of a drinker,” Aegis remarked, swinging his focus back to Snowy.

Snowy dismissively batted a hoof at him and poured them each a glass of cider. “And you didn’t strike me as a stallion who likes burgers.”

Rocking back, he folded his forelegs over his chest. “And what makes you say that?”

“Big, healthy stallion like you,” she began, waving over at him. “I figured you’d be eating salads and hard boiled eggs!”

“I do eat a lot of salad, tofu, and eggs,” he replied, levitating his cider over to himself, “but everyone can have a cheat day every so often - besides, I can always hit the gym a little harder tomorrow.”

Watching him take a sip of his beverage, she found her gaze wandering down from his face to his shoulders and chest. As irony would have it, he was similar to Thunderlane, the stallion she’d fooled around with, in a number of ways. Though they weren’t identical, the two stallions had greyish coats, blue-hued manes, and yellow-colored eyes. Looking up when he sat his glass down, she bashfully smirked.

“So do you work out at all?” he inquired.

“No, but I should really think about starting,” she grumbled, leaning over and inspecting her flank. “I don’t need to put on any weight.”

Making some room at the table and allowing the server to deliver two rocks glasses, he innocently held up his hooves. “I swear I don’t mean this in a creepy way, but there’s nothing wrong with a mare who has a little meat on her bones - just saying. If, and that’s a big if, you ever did want to get into shape, maybe I could take you to the gym some time and help you get a routine.”

“Not sure what you two are toasting,” the waitress interjected, pouring each of them two glasses of brandy, “but consider this on the house. My husband and I think you’re a cute couple.”

Watching the older mare glance over in the direction of the kitchen, Snowy noticed an older stallion, presumably the cook, lingering behind a serving window smiling out at them. “Well thank you - thank you both…”

While the gesture of a free drink was definitely a kind one, the circumstances around it made it slightly awkward. Was it that unimaginable that a mare and a stallion could be on friendly terms and nothing else? Doing her best not to let her embarrassment show, she waved to the stallion while keeping her hooves crossed that the awkward moment would end.

“Don’t worry about it,” the server said with a smirk. “And he’s right you know,” she added before turning away, “you could do with a little meat on your bones.”

Lifting a hoof to reply, Snowy suddenly found herself speechless - a sentiment her company didn’t share. Trying and failing not to giggle like a schoolfilly, Aegis held a hoof to his muzzle. She blushed in spite of knowing the server’s comment had been harmless and made with good intentions. Hoping to change the subject and spare herself any embarrassment, she grabbed one of the glasses of liquor and lifted it.

“To Anon,” she chirped.

“And to good friends,” Aegis intoned, magically lifting his glass and tapping it to hers.

She downed the very generous shot with him, sat her glass down, and loudly exhaled as the brandy warmed her gullet. Following suit, Aegis knocked his drink back and continued chatting with her. Though the conversation was a bit strange, mostly because she already knew him and ended up giving him a fabricated backstory of herself that she, Celestia, and Rain Shine had constructed, it was remarkably enjoyable. They told each other stories, they laughed, and they speculated on a number of rumors that had been circulating through Canterlot as they slowly drank and enjoyed their meals.

By the time they were finished, having eaten their dinner and drained the entire pitcher of cider, both Snowy and Aegis had loosened up considerably. What had started as exchanging pleasantries, warily avoiding anything that could even remotely offend, evolved into joking about anything that came to mind. Clutching his belly and wiping his face, the stallion fought to control himself.

“And…and then we gave her armor that was way too small,” he guffawed, slapping his knee.

Joining him in his mirth, Snowy broke into a fit of giggling. “Well don’t be surprised if somepony turns the tables on you!”

He waved away any concern and drained what was left of his glass. “Please - like that would bother me. It’s not like we wear anything in the barracks anyways!”

Fleeting images of him strutting out of a shower with water running down his chiseled frame danced through her mind. Feeling warm all over and more than a little bit tipsy, she studied him. Yeah, there was no doubt about it, agreeing to go out with him had done her a world of good. She felt fantastic, her day had been salvaged, and she hadn’t been this relaxed in - well, she hadn’t been this relaxed since the night she’d gone through her transformation.

“Wait,” she started as his words finally sank in. “Even the guard mares go around naked?”

“Off shift, yeah,” he casually answered. “Some of ‘em are easy on the eyes, but none of them are really my type.”

A nagging part of her better judgment told her not to ask, but her curiosity got the better of her. “What’s your type then?”

“Hmmmm,” he thoughtfully hummed, staring up at the ceiling. “Plump but not too plump, short, preferably with a long mane…”

“I know just the type,” she hiccuped. “A nice pair of foal-bearing hips, juicy teats, soft and good for snuggling - the kind of mare who’d make it hard for you to get up in the morning.”

Gazing over at her, he grinned. “Oh I’m pretty sure something would be hard if I woke up in bed next to a mare like that,” he breathed. “You wouldn’t know where I could find a mare like that ~ would you?”

Before she could reply, he reached over and stroked her foreleg. As if the gesture and the somewhat amorous topic wasn’t a dead giveaway at what he was going for, he shot her a wink - a wink that set her heart fluttering. Though he may have had innocent intentions when he’d asked her out for a meal, the cider had loosened his inhibitions and let his feelings for her shine through.

“I…I…” she stammered, swallowing hard. “I might know a mare…”

She wasn’t about to admit it, but it’d been over a month since she’d gotten any action and her hoof simply wasn’t cutting it. Though she’d considered going out and procuring a marital aid to keep her company, she hadn’t yet worked up the nerve to go out and buy something so scandalous. Knowing full well that she may regret what she was doing, she turned her foreleg and clasped hooves with him.

Looking her dead in the eyes, he nodded to the side. “Wanna get out of here?”

“Yeah…” she breathed.

The alcohol’s full effects hit her the moment she slid out of her seat and got to her hooves. Swaying slightly, she closed her eyes for a moment. Her hubris had been her undoing, going off her tolerance for drinking when she’d been far larger and with a different metabolism, but things could have been worse. She could still think relatively clearly, she was pretty sure she could trot in a decently straight line, and she didn’t feel sick.

Noticing her plight, Aegis knit his brow. “Stay right there. I’ll go pay the bill and be right back.”

She gave him a thumbless thumbs up while swaying slightly in place. “Sounds good.”

He did as he said, briskly paying the bill before returning to her side. “Come on, let’s get you back to the castle.”

Leaning against him for support, she trotted out into the cool, refreshing night air. Ponies were out and about, the cloudless sky lay overhead, and all was right with the world - or so she thought. A fantastic smell tickled her nostrils, an aroma she couldn’t quite identify, and it sent a thrilled shiver up her spine. Sniffing the air and closing her eyes, she quickly discovered the bouquet was coming from the stallion right next to her.

“You smell nice,” she commented, pressing her snout in his neck.

Slowing and returning the favor, he buried his nose in her fluffy, lion-like mane. “Says the mare that smells nice herself.”

She tittered at his complement and playfully pushed him away. He didn’t budge in the slightest, being far larger and more powerfully built than herself, sending her reeling. Faster than she could think, before she lost her balance, he plucked her from the ground with his magic and sat her over his back. If he’d wanted to, he could overpower her with ease, but he wasn’t that kind of stallion - unless…

Making herself comfortable, she wiggled atop him. She’d hoped she wasn’t drunk enough to make a proverbial ass of herself, presuming she’d simply be able to trot next to him, but his chivalry, her unsteadiness, or some combination of the two had lead to just that. Only the slightest bit annoyed, she slapped his toned flank.

“Better watch that,” he clucked. “Somepony might get the wrong impression about us.”

“Come on -” she innocently countered, peeking back at him, “as if ponies weren’t thinking that already.”

Holding her gaze, he focused his magic and nonchalantly gave her tush a sorcerous squeeze. “And if they think I’m bringing you home to make wild, passionate love to you?”

Her heart fluttered madly, she felt her marehood grow moist, and she licked her lips. “W…well…”

“Well…?” he urged.

“If that’s the case,” she breathed, “then they…”

With an impish smirk on his muzzle, he caressed her inner thigh with his aura. “They what…?”

“T…they…” she sputtered, gliding a forehoof around his waist.

To Tartarus with it. She hadn’t gone out wanting to get laid, but that’s what was going to happen - she knew it, he knew it, and anypony in the surrounding area probably knew it. As she was carried along, she lowered her head and took notice of something beneath him - a long, dark, heavy something hanging under his belly.

Grinning all the broader, he flexed his loins and slapped his gradually hardening stallionhood against his abdomen. “The faster we get back to your place, the faster you can get a closer look at it, cutie.”

Ignoring her slowly flagging tail, she gave his hindquarters a smack. She’d only gotten a fleeting glimpse of his tool, but it looked like he was packing one heck of a whopper. Like a giddy colt after prom night, he whisked her under the portcullis, through the inner ward, and to one of the side entrances of the keep.

His flight through the castle and to her room went by in an all but literal flash. Breathing hard and being sat down just within her chamber, completely apathetic that both she and Aegis had worked up a sweat, she kicked her door closed and pointed to her bed. If she was going to sully another set of sheets and risk waking up with a few regrets, she was going to do things her way.

“A mare who knows what she wants ~ eh?” he chuckled, hopping onto her mattress and easing himself down. “I can get behind that.”

“Funny you should say that,” she snickered, dragging herself onto the bed beside him. “Lay on your back for me.”

Giving her a little salute, he followed her order to the letter. The sight of his stallionhood stoked the flames of her mounting lust and hammered away at her reservations. With a thick, angry vein running along one side and covered in dark flesh, his length beckoned to her. Drawn in, she approached from his side and froze.

“Hang on a sec,” she grumbled, repositioning herself. Swinging a hind leg over his head, she peered down her chest and past her bosoms at him. “This good for you?”

Keeping his eyes glued to her marehood, he reached up, grabbed her hips, and pulled her hindquarters down. She yelped when she sat on his face, unprepared for just how enthusiastic he’d be, yet her surprise was quickly subsumed by bliss. Given the absolute ravishing he gave her, feasting on her loins like a beast, he was just as excited to get her in bed as she was to sate herself with him.

Lowering herself upon him, she drew her nose down to the base of his length. His natural aroma was fantastic, yet the musk radiating from his nethers was downright intoxicating. Strong, earthy, and tickling parts of her brain that hadn’t existed a month prior, his scent alone was almost enough to send her into a frenzy - almost. Reining herself in, she lifted her head and ran her tongue up his shaft.

The idea for a sixty-nine had been spontaneous, but she was glad she’d thought of it. He got to warm her up while she had a chance to appreciate his endowment, it was a win-win - even so, a problem quickly presented itself. Between the drinks she’d had, the subtle teasing on the way back to the castle, and her burning desires, she was practically skyrocketing toward release.

She forced herself to focus as she wrapped her lips around the head of his cock. Even if she wasn’t going to be able to last for too long, she couldn’t bring herself to take a completely passive role - it just didn’t feel right. Closing her eyes, she filled her lungs and began bobbing her head.

The satisfied groan he gave was music to her ears, giving her all the inspiration she needed to continue. While it was unfortunate that their position made it impossible for her to work the most sensitive part of his dick, she did the best she could given the impulsive circumstances. Mopping his length, leaving streaks of saliva along his shaft, she quivered and bucked against his face.

It was funny - she’d never given much thought to the intricacies of mutual oral, but it was a lot harder than she thought it’d be - pleasurable and fun as all get-out, but definitely not easy. The waves of pleasure surging through her made it difficult to concentrate, wreaking havoc on her mind, and it put her at a disadvantage. Once again, like with her time at the spa, she became aware of just how bad mares had it.

“Sweet Celestia,” he gasped, withdrawing for air. “You taste so much better than a pony.”

Withdrawing with a soft Pop, she peeked back at him. “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” he hummed, caressing her ass. “And hotter too…”

Though she hadn’t wanted to bring the foreplay to a hasty end, the situation was quickly getting out of hoof. She was already close to her limit, he was rock hard, and he clearly knew what he was doing. Almost reluctantly pushing herself up, she stepped away from him and turned to face him. It was painfully obvious that she wasn’t going to last as long as he was, but that wasn’t a problem - no, the real problem was that she wanted to see him while they were doing it.

Straddling him, she dipped her hips and kissed her marehood to the tip of his length. “Guess you’re going to find out if I’m as hot as you think I am.”

“Oh I know you’re hot,” he whispered, lifting and bracing his hind legs.

Silently smiling down at him, she gradually descended and impaled herself. The sensation of being penetrated was just as unbelievably incredible as she remembered, titillating to a fault, although she couldn’t afford to get ahead of herself. Inch after wondrous inch of thick, hot stallionhood stretched her confines, steadily filling her, until she reached his fat medial ring.

“Just…just give me a second,” she wheezed, acclimating to the intrusion.

Surrounding her breasts with his magical aura, he delicately played with her teats. “Take all the time you want - trust me, I don’t mind.”

The additional stimulation was enough to make her whimper in delight and fully hilt herself. The thick band of flesh near the base of his length ground against her g-spot, his cock-head seated itself to her womb, and she uncontrollably winked around him. Maybe it was her imagination, but she could swear he was the perfect fit for her - like a key to a lock.

She gave no warning when she started to move. Leaning forward and placing her forehooves against his chest, she lifted her hips, freed a portion of his shaft, and slammed her ass back down atop him. The plunge was everything she could have asked for and more, downright electrifying, and it spurred her onward.

While he’d just said that she could take her time, he hastily joined her. As he thrust up to meet her descents, having gotten her timing down perfectly, his balls slapped against her tush. Her rapturous mewls cut through the air, reverberating off the stone walls and sounding alien to her ears, but that wasn’t enough to stop her - if anything, the lewd sounds inspired her to move faster.

Alternating between looking to her face and abdomen, he twisted and lightly pulled on her nipples. She’d thought that having her breasts toyed with by a pegasus’ wings had been amazing, but magic - holy heck, the touch of sorcery was so much better than she would have guessed. Closing her eyes and openly panting, drooling over his chest, she struggled to keep up with him.

“Having fun?” he purred.

“Uh…uh-huh…” she croaked, finding it remarkably hard to think.

Shooting forward, taking her completely off guard, he wrapped his forelegs around her neck, pulled her to himself and locked lips with her. The impassioned kiss pushed her to the brink, threatening to undo her completely, but the way he began pounding into her broke her. Howling into his muzzle and around his thick, powerful tongue, she came like a volcano.

If her climax bothered him in the slightest, he gave no sign. Like a runaway train with a mad conductor, he jackhammered into her. Before her orgasm could subside, riding the euphoric high of unimaginable rapture, she was rocked to her core by a second, even more existence-shattering wave of ecstasy. Perhaps she’d been wrong - perhaps being a mare wasn’t as bad as she’d thought.

Her movements came to an abrupt halt, her marehood spasmed and quaked around his pistoning length, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Holy heck - she’d figured he would be decent in bed, but she’d been wrong - he wasn’t good, he was flippin’ phenomenal. Her second climax was followed by a third, robbing her of the ability to think, much less move, while he used her like a flimsy sex-toy.

Having nearly blacked out no fewer than three times, she broke the kiss and draped her head over his shoulder. As badly as she wanted to stay conscious, it was a fight she doubted she’d win. He was too well-hung, his technique was impeccable, he smelled great, he tasted even better, and the booze made his ruthless rutting all the more sensational - in short, she was in heaven.

With holding her forehooves and somehow continuing to use his magic to play with her bosoms and clit, he nibbled her ear. “I’m close…”

“Ugh,” she grunted, unable to form any meaningful response.

She didn’t know if a pony could knock up a kirin, nor did she care - in that moment, feeling his throbbing stallionhood battering her cervix, she wished for nothing more than for him to unload every drop of his hot, virile foal-batter straight into her baby-bakery. Finding the strength to make her desires known, she bit down on his collar.

No sooner did she give him the little love bite than he growled and hilted her. She could all but see his cock locking in place, swelling while the first shots of his seed surged through his shaft. The heat and pressure of his release, bathing her interior and seeping into her womb, an experience beyond words, the sort of thing she hadn’t thought possible, and it evoked what may have been the strongest orgasm of her life.

Throwing herself back, she brayed out in unfettered glee. “Yes - buck yes! Breed me, you sexy STUD!”

Continuing to fitfully thrust his hips, he did just that. Each pulse of his godly stallionhood sent his essence into her, bathing her depths with his cum and marking her as his. This was more than sex, well beyond the lovemaking of romantic partners - this was bestial, animalistic breeding and it gave her satisfaction that was beyond her wildest dreams. When he finally came to a stop, his body giving out, she collapsed on him and heaved air into her chest.

“H…holy moly,” he rasped, stroking her back.

Shudderingly turning and looking at his face, she wearily grinned. “That good?”

“That good,” he softly affirmed, holding her close. “You wanna shower and -”

“Not yet,” she interrupted, pressing a hoof to his lips. “I wanna let it marinate for a bit…”

The shred of common sense she had remaining told her it was a bad idea, that wallowing in their sweat and juices would matt her fur and make cleaning up all the more difficult, but she was past the point of caring. She’d had a wonderful night out with an even more wonderful stallion, and that was all that mattered. As she snuggled up with him, savoring the embrace, her only hope was that the little tryst wouldn’t have any lasting repercussions.

Gratified beyond measure and honestly tired enough to doze off, she bolted up when her door flew open. Backlit by the hallway lighting stood a figure - a figure bearing both wings and a horn. It took her pickled brain a second to figure out who and what she was looking at, understanding that the pony was too small to be either Celestia or Luna, but she grimaced when realization dawned on her.

“Haven’t you heard about knocking?” she called out, her voice slurring ever so slightly.

Undeterred, the mare stepped inside. “Who the hay are you and why are you in Anon’s room?”

“Hey,” Snowy huffed, shifting and unintentionally clenching around Aegis’ softening length, “this is my room and I’m telling you to get out! Can’t you see you’re interrupting something?!”

The mare stared over and jumped back, apparently only then realizing what she’d trotted in. “W…well I’ll be back. I was looking for Anon. If you see him, tell him I want to speak with him.”

As the door slammed shut, Snowy slowly exhaled. Now Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship was looking for her - well the man she used to be. Gently putting a forehoof to Aegis’ lips, silencing him and preempting any questions, she grumbled to herself and tried to get comfortable. She could deal with the Princess later - for the time being, all she wanted to do was bask in the moment…

Chapter 2

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Crawling out of bed and getting to her hooves, Snowy glanced once again to her vacant mattress. Waking up to discover Aegis had left at some point, likely having gotten up well before she had, was a bit of a mixed bag. On one hoof, she was relieved that there wouldn’t be any awkwardness after the spontaneous fling they’d had - on the other, though didn’t have to deal with him immediately, she had no doubt that it would only be a matter of time until she crossed paths with him. As she wandered into the bathroom, not quite hungover but a bit groggy from the night before, her thoughts wandered aimlessly.

Setting the water of her shower to warm, she sighed. It probably - no, it definitely hadn’t been a wise idea to get sloshed with Aegis, but there was nothing she could do about that now but brace herself for the inevitable. While she wasn’t worried about what she would do when she bumped into the guard, she was a bit concerned that he may misconstrue what had happened. One-night stands and wild, passionate flings had to be a thing in Equestria, so she was more than likely getting herself all worked up over nothing - probably.

Her long, warm, relaxing shower did wonders, even if it took longer than she’d expected to clean patches of her matted, slightly crusty fur, and it left her feeling refreshed. Regardless of her sleeping in, what Aegis may or may not be doing, and the late morning hour, she had the entire day to herself - in fact, the next two days. One of, if not the best thing about being employed in the Canterlot castle was that her schedule meant she had weekends and holidays free.

Stepping out of the shower and snatching up a towel, she began drying herself off. Her first order of business would be to get something to eat, preferably something greasy from the cafeteria, but that was the only item on her itinerary. As she wandered out of the bathroom and into her bedchamber, her eyes drifted over her room.

She’d never been a messy person, yet her metamorphosis had made tidying up far more of a trial than it used to be. Digits and an opposable thumb were, in her opinion, two of the things she missed the most about being a man - fortunately for her and her slovenly quarters, she didn’t have to fret too much. As with the private rooms of all the staff, the live-in maids would make sure her abode was spick and span before sunset.

Giving herself a cursory once-over in her vanity, ensuring she was decently presentable, she trotted through the exit, into the corridor, and in the direction of the cafeteria. Thoughts of savory hash browns and breakfast quiche danced through her thoughts, bringing a smile to her face and a skip to her steps, though her merriment ended almost as soon as it began. Rounding a corner, she nearly bumped squarely into one of the castle’s many servants.

The palace, though informal in some ways, was beholden to a number of traditions that had supposedly gone back for generations. Nearly everypony who worked in the keep wore a uniform of some sort, from the guards and their armor to the couriers and their sashes, but there was one group that stood out amongst the rest - the maids. Stallion servants trotted about in a vest, bow tie, and shirt, while mares tended to their duties in a short black dress, white apron, and a mobcap. She’d always thought they looked exceptionally cute, though the one facing her looked to be in anything but a pleasant mood.

Slightly taller than herself and with a more slender build, the pegasus’ silvery plumage and coat contrasted wondrously against her monochromatic outfit. The fur on her body extended up her wings and down her legs, growing slightly darker in hue closer to her hooves and pinions. Though her coloration and attire were striking, it was her amethyst eyes that stood out the most on her.

“Excuse me,” she stated, stepping to the side to continue on her way - unfortunately, the pony mirrored her movement and remained directly in her path. “Sorry, I -”

“Anon,” the mare whispered.

Snowy’s ears perked up, a chill ran through her, and her eyes shot over to the pony’s face. “Pardon?”

“Anon,” the mare tranquilly repeated. “I’d like to talk to you about him.”

“The human who was in my old room?” she quipped, falling back on her alibi. “Didn’t you hear, Celestia sent him back to his homeland - some place called Earth, if I remember right.”

Unmoving, the maid smirked and squinted over at her. “I heard that, but…” she hummed, leaning in and bringing her snout to the kirin’s ear. “I don’t think he ever left ~ did he, Anon.”

The blood in Snowy’s veins ran to ice. “I d…don’t know what you’re talking -”

“How about we continue this conversation somewhere more private - that is unless you think I should talk to Twilight about it. You know, I heard the Princess of Friendship has been asking around about Anon a lot lately - like a lot,” the mare continued. “If you think I’d be better off chatting with her about what happened, I can -”

“Ok ok ok ok ok,” Snowy frantically hissed, conspiratorially looking around herself. “Just keep quiet and follow me ~ alright?”

Grinning from ear to ear, the servant gestured in the direction of Snowy’s room. “By all means, lead the way.”

Snowy turned and swallowed hard knowing she’d been pressed into a corner. Buck - buck! There was no way some random maid could have figured out what was really going on ~ was there? Unwilling to make a gamble of what the mare may or may not know, she hastily trotted back into her room and held the door open.

As the pegasus strolled in, she slammed the door shut and glowered at her unwanted guest. “Alright, what’s going on? Why the hay do you think I know anything about -”

“You do know I’m the one who’s been cleaning your room ~ right?” the maid cut her off. “Judging from that shocked expression of yours, I’m going to guess no - bearing that in mind, let me point out a few things. Anon always kept a glass of water on his nightstand, he read Power Ponies, Mega Mare, and Super Sentai Stallions comics, and he had a funny way of keeping his shampoo, the same sort of shampoo you’ve been using, sitting in a particular way in his shower.”

“S…so?” Snowy sputtered, breaking into a cold sweat. “He left some stuff here when he left, so what?”

“And you just so happen to have the same comics he was reading, plus the hoofful of new issues that were released since he left, sitting in the exact same spot on your coffee table?” the mare quipped. “That’s one heck of a coincidence.”

Involuntarily glancing over, seeing the comics and a glass of water right where the servant had described them, Snowy scrunched her snout. This was bad - really bad, but she could still cover her hindquarters. She drew a deep breath, steadied herself, and stared over at her visitor without budging.

“And?” she groused. “There’s nothing wrong with a mare reading comics or keeping something to drink by her bed. As for the shampoo, I tried it after I moved in and happened to like it - shocking and quite scandalous, I know.”

Lowering and shaking her head, the pegasus chuckled. “Oh those are just the small things. Your mannerisms, speech patterns, and the routes you take through the castle are all exactly the same as Anon’s - oh and you coincidentally order the same meals as him, even though you only arrived at the castle just a short while ago.”

Snowy’s jaw mutely flapped, her heart sank, and her stomach twisted in upon itself as she realized she’d been found out. “If, and that’s a darn big if, you were right, what are you going to do about all this?”

Studying the mare, she fought the urge to bite her lower lip. What the actual buck?! If somepony had told her that there was a marish equivalent of Sherlock Holmes gallivanting about in the Canterlot castle as an unassuming maid, she would have called them a lunatic and reported them to the royal guard - regrettably for her, it sure as heck looked to be like there was. With her anxiety slowly rising, her thoughts wandered to a dark, very unpleasant place.

Needless to say, if her true identity was revealed, she’d become a laughing stock throughout the castle, Canterlot proper, and quite possibly all of Equestria. Her time as Anon had seen her, formerly him, as somewhat of a novel celebrity, the only human in the land, and she’d really rather not ponies assume she’d voluntarily changed her species, sex, and gender because the rumor mill could and almost assuredly would twist the story. As if it wasn’t troubling enough to consider what the general public would think of her, the notion of Twilight discovering what had happened made her hair stand on end.

Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and Element of Magic, wasn’t a bad pony by any means - that being said, she had an almost fetishistic fascination with learning and science. Snowy had endured hours upon hours of questions from the young alicorn upon his arrival to Equestria, being prodded on everything from the mundane to the exquisitely private, and it was only because of Celestia’s intervention that she’d been spared a full-blown inquisition and thorough examination. Shuddering at the thought of being poked and prodded by the perky, pesky, purple pony, she suppressed a shiver.

“I wasn’t going to do anything,” the servant responded, “but we are going to do a few things…”

“We?” Snowy balked. “What’s this we business? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?”

Trotting forward, the mare giggled. “First thing’s first, I want you to tell me if I’m right. If I’m wrong, I’m sure a more extensive investigation wouldn’t bother you a -”

“Fine,” Snowy bleated. “It’s me, Anon! You have to swear not to tell anypony!”

Cocking her head, the maid looked into her eyes. “And you go by Snowy now?”

“Until I can get myself changed back into a human, yes,” she sighed. “Listen, I can explain everything, but you have to swear - swear not to tell a soul about this.”

The pegasus seated herself and crisscrossed an X over her bosom. “Cross my heart - if that’s not good enough, I’ll even shake on it.”

With a defeated sigh, Snowy hung her head and sat down. “Just bear with me…”

Staring at the beginning, when she’d met Rain at the Ponyville train station, she recounted the humiliating tale of her metamorphosis and the subsequent misdirection she and Celestia had enacted - of course she left out the particularly raunchy bits, filling in the gaps with hazy details or outright lies, but she’d prefer to keep some of her amorous exploits personal. She only stopped to answer the occasional question or concern, blazing over the past few weeks at a breakneck pace, until her tale came to the night before. When she suddenly remembered what the maid had said about being the one assigned to her room, a blush crept into her cheeks.

“Y…you know what, I think I’ll tidy up myself,” she stammered, bolting to her hooves.

“Why?” the mare placidly asked. “Is it because you had that guard over last night?”

For the second time that morning, Snowy felt like she was about to have a heart attack. “No! I was just -”

“Snowy ~ can I call you Snowy?” the pegasus breathed, standing up and prompting her to give a subtle nod. “In my line of work, learning a bit about staff members fraternizing is about as tame as it gets - trust me, if you knew the things I knew, you wouldn’t be embarrassed at all.”

Snowy’s eyes widened in surprise at the assertion. “Wait ~ seriously?”

“Mmmhmm,” the servant hummed. “Granted, I pride myself in keeping things confidential, but you’ll just have to believe me. Having some fun with a guard is small potatoes.”

Awestruck and more than a little incredulous, she had to force herself to concentrate on the matter at hoof. “Well that’s a relief. So you’re gonna make good on your promise and keep this under wraps?”

“As long as you help me clean up this pigsty and come into town to help me with some chores, sure,” the pegasus cheerfully exclaimed. “I’m Silver, Silver Shine, by the way.”

“Snowy Glow,” Snowy reflexively noted, reaching over and shaking the mare’s hoof.

She knew it - she bucking knew there’d be some kind of a catch. All but literally stuck between a rock and a hard place, she had no choice but to do what the mare wanted. The last thing in the world she needed was to be known as that guy who got turned into a cute, fat-flanked mare who’d slept with one of the guards - furthermore, things would definitely get weird with Aegis if he found out she was - er - used to be Anon.

Displeased with the situation but having little choice, she grimaced. “So what’s the plan, Ms. Shine?”

“First order of business is that you’re going to help me clean your room,” Silver remarked. “While it really doesn’t bother me to deal with sheets that have been - Ahem - gently used, I’d rather you carry them to the laundry room.”

Marching over and pulling the blanket, linens, and pillows from the bed, Snowy bit back growl. “Alright…”

Silver beamed and traipsed to the bathroom, leaving the disgruntled kirin to her task. “I’ll be in here if you need me - oh and you don’t have to call me Ms. Shine. Silver works!”

As she wrestled with the cushions and pulled off the covers, Snowy’s thoughts darkened. All things considered, she should have been grateful. Instead of rushing off to convene with Twilight, who’s snooping had apparently been noticed by the sleuthing and remarkably observant pegasus, Silver had directly confronted her about the matter. Wrapping her sullied, still slightly damp linens in her relatively dry comforter, she grabbed the bundle in her teeth and threw it over her shoulder.

“Mmmph mph - MMPH FFFN PH!” she cursed through the cloth. Opening her maw and letting the makeshift sack fall to the floor, she leered over at the restroom. “I’ll bring these to the laundry room.”

Peeking her head out, Silver frowned. “Are you sure you want to do that? Anypony who sees you carrying your stuff by yourself might stop and ask what’s going on - that and a pony doing their own laundry raises eyebrows among the staff.”

“What - really?” Snowy balked.

“Yeah…” the maid hissed, stepping out and rubbing the back of her neck. “It’s sort of a tell when somepony shows up with blankets and covers to wash - means they either had an accident or they’re too embarrassed to let one of us deal with it.”

As she lifted a forehoof to ask what she was supposed to do, Snowy was blindsided by her own curiosity. “Since we’re keeping all sorts of stuff under our nonexistent hats, care to give an example?” she inquired. Seeing the mare go to answer then immediately hesitate, she donned her most disarming smile. “Come on, it’s not like you don’t have some serious dirt on me.”

Silver peeked over at the door and motioned her closer. “Ok, but you gotta promise to take this to the grave. So there’s a certain royal, not one of the Princesses, who’s really, really, really into some kinky stuff.”

“How kinky are we talking here?” Snowy pressed.

“I’m not gonna name names or get into the specifics, but it’s kind of odd to find diapers, a pacifier, in a grown pony’s room - for the record, none of the diapers were soiled, but yeah…” the pegasus murmured, somehow managing to look revolted and amused at the same time.

Completely taken off guard by the admission, Snowy knit her brow. “I…huh…”

Tempted though she was to ask for specifics, she abstained and let the matter lie. She’d always wondered what the regal residents and guests of the castle did behind closed doors, away from prying eyes and the public, so it was relieving to hear that at least one of them had something to hide. With Silver disappearing back into the bathroom, she dragged the linens to the door.

With no way of knowing what the maid was doing or how long she’d be left waiting, she put herself to work tidying up. While she didn’t have any clothes to worry about, having her old wardrobe neatly folded and put away, there were a few things she could busy herself with. As she drifted to and began sorting her comics by issue and series, her ears swiveled to the sound of humming from the restroom.

“So is this how you normally do things?” she called out.

“Dragging ponies off to their rooms? Heavens no,” Silver laughed.

Snowy shook her head as she straightened one little pile of comics. “I meant cleaning the rooms - like are you normally by yourself when you do it?”

Reappearing and peeking out at her, the pegasus smiled. “Most of the time, yeah - well, no, usually we have a cart of cleaning supplies. I would have wheeled my stuff in here, but I sort of put everything on hold to catch up with you in the hallway.”

“Speaking of which ~ exactly why did you want to talk with me?” she asked. “I doubt you did the same thing to the pony you mentioned with the diapers.”

Silver inched out of the bathroom with two dirtied towels and a washcloth draped over one wing. “Honestly, because I couldn’t believe what was going on! It’s easy enough to put the pieces together if you find sex-toys, mare’s lingerie in a stallion’s room, or love letters to somepony that didn’t come from their spouse, but for a human - the human to get turned into a kirin of all things?! I’ll put it this way, I’ve seen things that are less bonkers when Discord comes to visit!”

“I…I don’t know if I should be insulted or honored,” Snowy noted.

“Honored - definitely honored,” the maid tittered, trotting out and tossing the towels onto the heap of linens. “Like you said, it’s not like this is something you wanted to happen.”

“Yeah…” she sighed. “You know, for a second there, I was worried you were going to extort me or something.”

“Extort?” Silver parroted, cocking her head to one side.

Looking over at the pegasus, Snowy nervously smiled. “Yeah, like you’d put me in one of those little maid outfits and ~ what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

The mare’s eyes had nearly doubled in size, a broad, impish smile split her muzzle, and her wings excitedly fidgeted on her back as she looked the kirin from top to bottom. “I wasn’t going to do that, no, but…”

Snowy grit her teeth and bolted past the mare, into the bathroom, and into the basin. If she could have kicked herself, she would have beaten her own behind so hard that she couldn’t have sat for days - no, weeks! Turning the water on full blast, she doused herself and quenched the smoldering flames that were moments from consuming her.

“Are…are you ok?” Silver murmured, drawing her eye.

“Peachy!” she seethed. “Just wonderful!”

In shock, awe, or some combination of the two, the pegasus watched her spontaneous, wholly self-inflicted metamorphosis into a nirik. “That is so cool! Does that mean you’re excited?”

“Mmmhmm!” Snowy loudly hummed, shivering under the flow of frigid water.

“If you think talking about getting you a uniform is exciting, just wait until you try one on!” Silver enthusiastically bleated, skipping in place like a joyous filly. “With that sapphire mane of yours, you’re going to look beautiful in one of our dresses!”

Snowy reached out, turned the knob on the spigot, and stemmed the flow of water, sensing herself dip back past the emotional flash-point. “Goody…I can’t wait…”

Stepping out of the basin and letting her still-heated body dry itself, she pinched the bridge of her snout when her guest traipsed out and into her room. Her heart told her that Silver wasn’t a bad pony, but there was no way in Tartarus she was going to risk doing anything to get on the mare’s bad side. If going into town and trying on a silly outfit meant her secret would be kept, it was a relatively small price to pay.

The good news was that cleaning her room, dragging the linens to the castle’s miniature laundromat, and leaving the palace went as smooth as butter - the bad news was that, as soon as she and Silver trotted through the portcullis and into the city proper, her newfound associate became exponentially more chatty. Darned if she could say how or why a maid was allowed to leave the keep without getting approval from a supervisor, but the pegasus’ casual nonchalance led her to believe the behavior was anything but extraordinary. Keeping pace with the lanky mare, she peaked a brow and cleared her throat.

“I hate to interrupt, but where are we going?” she grumbled.

Waving to a circular building near the western wall of the palace, Silver beamed. “The Canterlot Carousel! Ever since Rarity opened the place, her new boutique has been providing uniforms and tailoring services to the castle,” she explained. Leaning closer to the kirin, she lowered her voice. “Don’t tell anypony, but I’d bet my bottom bit that there’s some nepotism involved.”

Snowy slowed, intrigued by the assertion. “What makes you say that?”

“According to some documents I saw in the finance office, they’re paying Rarity almost double what they’d been paying Hoity Toity for the exact same job! I would never bring it up to any of the Princesses, but doesn’t it sound kind of funny that one of Twilight Sparkle’s friends is suddenly contracted and making darn good bits for a simple job?” she breathed.

Having lifted a forehoof and opened her mouth to speak, Snowy pursed her lips. “Have you always been this observant?”

“Yup!” the maid chirped. “Mom wanted me to get into detective work, but I thought it would be boring.”

“And taking a servant job for the Princesses isn’t boring?” Snowy incredulously countered.

Dismissively batting a wing, the pegasus snickered. “Sweet Celestia, no, not at all! Figuring out who committed some silly little crime would be easy - unraveling the nuances of politics and who’s diddling who is much, much more fascinating!”

Snowy dumbfoundedly watched the mare proudly keep trotting like nothing was the matter. The unassuming maid was either an idiot savant, somepony akin to a more practically skilled Pinkie Pie, or a criminally underappreciated genius - regardless, her investigative skills would be put to better use doing something other than amassing gossip. Absentmindedly looking to her left, drawn by a blur of motion, she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Did you see that?” she grunted, bringing the pegasus to a halt.

Following the kirin’s gaze, Silver squinted over at an alley down the street. “See what?”

Though she shook her head, Snowy’s eyes remained on the narrow backstreet. “I thought I saw somepony run down there in a hurry.”

“You mean Twilight?” Silver inquired.

Snowy’s head whipped around to gaze up at the servant, as her heart skipped a beat. “Twilight? Twilight Sparkle?”

Trotting ahead and to the boutique, Silver nodded. “She’s been following us for the last - oh, twenty minutes or so. I gotta say, she’s really skilled at teleportation too.”

“Seriously? She’s seriously tailing us and you didn’t say anything?” she squawked, rushing to catch up with the mare.

“What would telling you accomplish? Think about it - if I mentioned it, you’d start acting differently and put her on her guard. As far as she’s concerned, excluding you getting a little too close to seeing her, she had no idea that we know she’s watching us,” Silver explained, stopping at and pushing the shop’s door open. “After you!”

Making a mental note to pry about Twilight’s activities later, once they were somewhere more private, she hurriedly trotted into the boutique and off the street. She’d had a feeling that the Princess of Friendship would make an appearance at some point, since she’d stepped in on her and gotten quite the eyeful, although she wouldn’t have guessed she’d be stalked by the young alicorn. As she took a breath to steady herself, she looked over at a tall, sky-blue unicorn with a fiery mane and tail approaching them.

“I’m Sassy Saddles and welcome to the Canterlot Carousel.” the mare began, stopping and giving a small bow. Looking over at Snowy, she smiled. “I presume this is a new hire?”

“No, I - Oooph,” Snowy grunted, elbowed in the side by the servant beside her.

“She is, yes,” Silver interjected. “If you could get her fitted for one of our uniforms, I’d appreciate it.”

Sassy wheeled around and briskly began trotting to one corner of the shop. “This way, my good mares,” she noted, beckoning for them to follow. “You two may be in luck. One of your fellow maids, a Ms. Carillon as I recall, was just here the other week and I believe you’re close to her size.”

Snowy paid the tall, horned mare little heed, finding herself far more interested with the dizzying array of articles around her. She’d never been to a pony clothing store before ~ why would she? Up until a few weeks ago, all her clothes had been custom made and delivered to her on Princess Celestia’s orders. Marveling at a sea of dresses, her eyes drifted over to a particular area swimming in lace.

She should have figured that the denizens of Equestria would occasionally don lingerie, but this was her first time seeing it in person - well her first time seeing it well. Many months prior, while attending a gala in the castle, she’d spotted a mare bowing and unwittingly showing off garters, a matching belt, and a sheer pair of panties. Though she couldn’t fully wrap her head around it, likely because creatures of the land typically wore nothing at all, there was something immeasurably provocative about seeing a pony adorned in unmentionables.

“Hey!” she barked, snapping from her spontaneous reverie as a length of fabric wound around her waist.

“Hold still, dear,” Sassy tutted. “How do you expect me to fit you if I don’t have your measurements?”

Displeased with the development, Snowy forced herself to remain still. She wasn’t a maid, nor had she any desire to dress like one, but biting the proverbial bullet to buy Silver’s silence superseded her frustrations. Soon enough, she’d be back in her room at the castle, preferably having gotten something to fill her stomach, and be able to relax - she hoped…

Sassy stepped back, levitated the measuring tape to herself, and snorted. “And I was so close too. Not to worry, I should have a uniform for her by tomorrow.”

“Were the measurements off?” Silver quipped.

“Just by a hair,” the unicorn responded. “Ms. Carillon is slightly shorter than you are, miss…?”

“Snowy Glow,” Snowy groused. “Shame it won’t fit, but I’m not -”

“Get it anyways,” Silver interrupted. “If it’s just a little short, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Snowy gawked over at the pegasus but somehow managed to remain silent. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have caused a scene, although the circumstances were anything but ordinary. Sassy apparently had some connection with Rarity and therefore Twilight, Silver still had her thoroughly hamstrung, and upsetting either of them would do nothing but dig the hole she was in deeper. Clamping her eyes shut, she filled her lungs, held her breath for a moment and slowly exhaled as the unicorn trotted away.

Reaching over and patting her shoulder with a wing, Silver grinned. “You are going to look so cute! With a flank like yours, I bet you’ll have all the guards fighting for a peek!”

The mention of guards brought Aegis to her mind. The stallion, much like her formerly human male self, had an eye for at least a small hoofful of the maids, so she couldn’t help but wonder what his reaction would be to seeing her in one of the outfits - particularly one that rode high on her tush. Unwittingly fantasizing about the centurion, speculating on if he was thinking about her, she started when the pegasus drifted closer.

“What?” she huffed.

“Can I - um…” Silver faltered. “Can I touch your mane? I know that’s gotta sound kinda funny, and the last thing I want to do is offend you, but it’s just so fluffy.”

Shrugging, she lifted her head. “Knock yourself out, but don’t do anything funny.”

She couldn’t say what the mare’s definition of funny was, but it evidently didn’t include burying her face in the soft, wooly, sapphire hair around her neck. While she was sorely tempted to shove the feathered pony away, she abstained and held her ground. She could understand why most ponies would have an interest in her but be too polite to pester her about it, considering it toed the line of being rude, but having Silver sniffing her mane was just a touch weird.

Waiting a hoofful of seconds, she gently pushed the mare away when she noticed Sassy moving in their direction. “Ok, that’s enough of that.”

“S…sorry,” Silver stuttered. “It’s so soft and it smells really good! Has anypony ever told you it smells good?”

Aegis had in fact made a comment about her smell while they’d been cuddling at one point, though the memory was fuzzy at best. As a neatly folded maid outfit hovered over to her, she extended a hoof. Now that she had the thing, irrespective of how well it fit, she figured she would be expected to…

“Try it on!” Silver exclaimed. “There are fitting rooms in the back.”

The quicker she put on her fashion show, the faster she’d be able to slink back to her room and get some peace - as such, with the garment held in one hoof, she meandered past the racks of clothes and to the nearest fitting booth. She’d fully expected Silver to follow her, since this whole harebrained scheme was her idea, though she hadn’t anticipated Sassy trailing along to see how she’d look. Refusing to look back, she slipped into one of the small rooms, kicked the door closed behind her, and lifted the attire.

Getting dressed as a human was one thing, having done so more times than she could count over the years, but she quickly discovered that doing so as a quadruped wasn’t nearly as simple as she’d hoped. What should have been an easy task, something that took a minute or two at most, ended up taking far, far longer than she’d hoped. As she darkly muttered to herself, realizing that having a mastery over her magic would make things go more smoothly, she wriggled into the outfit and then turned to look at herself in a mirror hanging on one wall.

To her utter amazement, she didn’t look bad at all - in fact, she looked pretty darn good. As Silver had asserted, the black and white of the uniform complemented her coat, mane, and eyes exceptionally well, thought there was a small problem. Turning in place and inspecting her backside, she discovered just how short the dress was.

The hem of the dress only partially covered her rear, leaving most of her soft, doughy tush fully exposed. While she had every right to be annoyed with the ill-fitting garment, the sight of her juicy flanks sent an unexpected thrill through her. She didn’t just look like a maid - she looked like a sexy maid.

Hearing excited whispering from outside, she glanced to the door. She couldn’t lurk in the fitting room forever, so she steeled herself, summoned her courage, and saw herself out. To heck with it - like pulling off a band-aid, she’d rather get her exhibition done and over with quickly. As she trotted out, keeping her eyes on the floor, the pair of mares outside quietly gasped and stepped back.

“Oh my gosh - Snowy, you look amazing!” Silver exclaimed.

Snowy refused to look up at either of them, feeling her cheeks starting to darken. “You’re just saying that.”

“She isn’t, I assure you,” Sassy replied as she inspected her. “Though that dress is a bit short, it suits you rather well - in fact, I don’t think anypony would take umbrage with how you wear it.”

As she shrewdly rubbed her chin, a smirk crept across Silver’s face. “I think you’re right, Sassy, but maybe we should get some input from a few other staff members.”

Having neither seen nor heard any other employees within the boutique, Snowy stiffened. “Where? In the castle?”

The pegasus turned, nodded to the couture, and proceeded to the exit. “Exactly. If worse comes to worst, we can always bring it back - besides, like my mom used to tell me, you should take clothes for a spin before deciding you want to keep them or not.”

“If you’d like to keep it for a day or two, be my guest,” Sassy added.

“Fine,” Snowy groaned, trudging after Silver.

Trotting through and out of the shop, she did her best to remain calm. While the residents of Canterlot were used to seeing maids and guards while out and about, considering they were routinely sent out for errands, it would likely be the first time any of them would have seen a kirin adorned in such a fashion. She only lifted her gaze occasionally, ensuring she wasn’t about to run into anything or anypony, while she and her feathered associate made a beeline back to the castle.

The few townsponies she did pass paid her little mind, merely glancing over at her before carrying on their way, as did the pair of centurions posted at the main gate - regrettably, once she’d stepped hoof into the keep, things took a turn. The palace’s staff saw one another on a daily basis, so spotting a new maid, much less a kirin of all things, instantly made her a focal point of attention. It was subtle, so subtle that she may have missed it if she was a human, but hushed, excited whispers of passersby drifted to her ears.

Though she was tempted not to look, worried that she may be met with looks of derision, glanced over in the direction of the throne room. As she’d feared, a number of servants and no fewer than three guards were watching her and quietly chatting with one another. She should have been embarrassed, especially because one of the stallions’ excitement of seeing her was gradually slipping from its sheath beneath him, yet their captivation with her evoked a curious sense of pride and confidence.

Slowing, she altered course and trotted toward the small group. It was only right that she correct the ponies, letting them know that she hadn’t spontaneously switched jobs to become a servant - at least that’s what she told herself. Leaving Silver in her wake, she sauntered over to the onlookers, raised a hoof in greeting, and smiled.

“Snowy, right?” one of the guards asked. “I thought you took Anon’s position as the Princesses’ errand mare?”

“Oh I am,” Snowy smoothly responded. “I just wanted to go out with - um - my friend Silver to try one of these on! What do you think?”

The ponies’ approving nods and smiles bolstered her self-esteem and soothed her tattered nerves. It was one thing to think she looked nice, but it was extremely rewarding to hear her thoughts echoed by somepony else. She turned to give them a better look at her sides, almost enthused to display her attire, and found Silver looming over her.

“Friend?” the pegasus softly repeated. “You consider me a friend?”

The expression of barely-kept joy on the mare’s face erased the lingering concerns she’d had about the mare. Silver may have been a bit odd and quirky, having brazenly spoken to her about who she really was, but she didn’t appear to be a bad pony - slightly bubbly and holding some untapped genius for solving mysteries, but not a bad pony by any means. As a wave of relief washed over her, finally understanding that she was in no real peril, she laughed and gave a slight nod.

“Maybe not a close friend yet, but I think you’re alright,” she sighed.

Before she could blink, the pegasus shot forward and wrapped her in a hug. The embrace was strangely soothing, lifting her spirits and bringing a smile to her face, though it ended nearly as quickly as it had begun. The sound of hooves against polished marble, ponies rushing past, and Silver’s immediate withdrawal prompted her to look back over her shoulder.

“My my - it appears as though somepony has hired a new maid without my approval,” Celestia remarked, lowering her head toward the stricken kirin. “Are we seeking a new career line?”

“N…no,” Snowy sputtered. “Silver thought I’d look good in one of the uniforms.”

“It’s true, my liege,” Silver affirmed, bowing. “Since she’s new, I thought she’d like to learn what us servants do in and around the castle - with that in mind, I figured it was only appropriate that she get the full experience.”

Remaining where she stood and leaning over, the Princess eyed Snowy’s side and barely covered flank. “I suppose it won’t hurt anything, though the dress is a bit revealing ~ wouldn’t you say?”

Snowy’s face blossomed into a brilliant crimson as she saw the mischievous grin on Celestia’s face. “It’s n…not like I was going to flaunt it or anything!”

“Of course you weren’t,” Celestia tittered, trotting by and down the corridor. Stopping after several paces, she peered over her shoulder at the kirin. “If I may make a small suggestion - should you keep that particular outfit, perhaps a pair of panties would be in order.”

Left speechless, Snowy watched the towering alicorn trot away. She’d just started enjoying herself, if only a touch, but the Princess’ words brought her back to reality. While she may not have been in any trouble or potential peril, strutting around with her tush hanging out wouldn’t do her any favors - on the contrary, she could potentially cultivate an unwanted name for her.

“I…I think I’m gonna get something to eat,” she hastily stated, giving a wave over to Silver. “I’ll catch you a little later ~ alright?”

Silver nodded and rubbed the back of her neck with a wing, seemingly realizing she’d played a part creating the small spectacle. “Alright. I’ll see you later, Snowy.”

Snowy genuinely would like to pick the mare’s brain a bit, in part because she was almost certain she’d seen Twilight peeking around a corner at her not a minute before, but that would have to wait until later. Cantering away and to one of the many less-used stairwells within the castle, she hurried upstairs and to the relative sanctuary of her room. While she was quite hungry, not having eaten anything since the night prior, she wasn’t about to go to the cafeteria in her current getup.

Only stopping once she was in her bedchamber, she slammed and locked the door closed behind herself. Talk about a wild morning - she’d woken up after a fling, been accosted by what she initially presumed was a sadistic servant, and wound up with her first and only piece of pony apparel. As she strolled around the end of her bed, a sudden movement at her side caught her eye.

She stopped and turned to her vanity, thankful that the motion was only her reflection. Looking herself over, she smiled. Now that she didn’t have a nosy pegasus and a unicorn waiting on her, she had a little more time to fully appreciate her appearance. Fluffing up her mane with a forehoof, the gnawed her bottom lip and waggled her eyebrows at herself.

“The things I’d do to you if I was still a human,” she mused, giggling at the thought.

It was entertaining to consider what she would have done if she’d run across a mare as cute as herself when she’d been a man, yet the notion of what a man would do to her was just as compelling. Imagining what it would feel like to have a hand squeezing her rump or running down from her neck to her abdomen sent a shiver up her spine. She may not have been able to indulge in her impulsive fantasy of self-cest, but there was a stallion who may be interested in seeing her in her sexy little outfit.

Sensing her marehood tingle and nipples go hard, she wheeled around and flagged her tail. Yeah, she could definitely turn a few heads if she paraded around the castle like this. A bat of the eye here, a kissy face there, all while strutting and swaying her hips - that’d definitely get Aegis’ motor running. Balancing on three legs, she reached under herself and caressed her loins.

It could have been partially or fully due to her metamorphosis, but she couldn’t fully explain what was going on with her libido. She’d gone from grumpy to turned on at the drop of a hat - moreover, she felt warmer than usual. Just as her cloven hoof graced her clit, making her shiver with delight, she growled and shook her head.

No, this wasn’t the time to succumb to her heckishly marish urges. She was going to get undressed, go get a very late breakfast, and carry on with what was left of her day without anything else going awry - for buck’s sake, she wasn’t some horny, hormonally charged teenager! As she carefully squirmed out of her dress, ignoring the subtle ache in her nethers, her thoughts dwelled on one thing - rather one stallion she hoped to see again…

Chapter 3

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Backing off the scale, waiting for it to zero out, then stepping onto it for the fourth time in short order, Snowy peered down and scrunched her snout. She’d been a mare for a relatively short period of time, only a few months, yet she’d somehow managed to pack on a few pounds of weight. As she cursed her incredible senses, her thoughts fixated on the root of the problem.

She’d always liked eating, even when she’d been a man, though everything tasted much, much better now that she was a kirin. Flavors were more vivid, the scent of spices were titillating, and even the texture of some food was more stimulating than ever! Hearing her traitorous stomach grumble, awoken by the thought of savory dishes or rich desserts, she reached back and pinched her belly.

There was only one thing she could do - would do, though she loathed the thought of it. The castle had a gym - two in fact, and it was high time she started using them to keep herself in shape. Being a mare was frustrating in and of itself, but even the thought of being an especially pudgy mare was enough to spur her to action. Seeing as how she was going to be stuck as a kirin for some time, until Rain stopped dragging her hooves and concocted an elixir to change her back into a man, she may as well try to stay in a decently alluring shape.

“Stupid - Nnnf - good donuts,” she grumbled to herself, rearing onto her hind legs to snatch a towel from the rack.

Doing a bit of exercise certainly couldn’t hurt her with her weight, but there was another reason she was willing to suffer through some. It was hard for her to put her hoof on exactly when it had started, but the last two weeks, shortly after her impromptu trip to the boutique with Silver, had been particularly grueling. She didn’t think she was getting sick, feeling more or less fine, but something was definitely going on with her.

There were days when she felt like she was bouncing off the walls, loaded with energy for no discernible reason, and it was hard for her to concentrate on doing any one thing for a protracted period of time. She should have gone to the clinic to get herself checked out, if only for peace of mind, although getting poked and prodded by somepony she barely knew wasn’t on her to-do list. Maybe her mind and body were becoming more intrinsically linked, or perhaps her metabolism had evened out after her transformation - whatever the case may be, a bit of physical exertion sure as heck couldn’t hurt anything.

Seeing herself out and locking up after herself, she turned and trotted down the corridor. The larger of the two gyms, the one which was available to the public during business hours, was on the first floor, but that wasn’t the direction she headed in. If she was going to be miserable and essentially torture herself, she was going to do around as few ponies as physically possible.

The employee fitness center, while relatively small, was closer to her room and was never as packed as the one downstairs. She kept her hooves crossed as she navigated the labyrinthine hallways, up a flight of stairs, and to her destination. If she was lucky - like really lucky, she might just have the place to herself. Stopping at a small intersection, she looked to her left and right.

While she’d visited the gym once or twice before, her prior trips there had been purely out of curiosity. Considering humans weren’t really a thing in Equestria, and that the castle rarely if ever hosted bipeds of any kind, all the exercise equipment was made expressly for quadrupeds. Veering in one direction, remembering she was going the wrong way, then executing a u-turn, she frustratedly muttered under her breath.

It didn’t take her long to reach her destination, only a hoofful of minutes and a single wrong turn, though she was immediately dismayed by the sight which awaited her. Not only were there three ponies already occupying the gym, but she quickly spotted a very familiar face. Cantering on a treadmill to one side of the spacious chamber was none other than Aegis.

The sight of her former friend turned drunken fling gave her a moment for pause and was almost enough to make her turn around and retreat back to her room - almost. She was going to have to get used to being around other ponies when she wasn’t on the clock, so she took a breath, slowly exhaled, and stepped inside. She was just an ordinary kirin there to do a bit of exercise, merely wanting to try and stay in shape; nopony was going to bother her if she was trying to better herself ~ right?

As she trotted along on the rubberized floor, keeping her eyes down, she wandered to the locker room. Though there were places in the castle that hosted stallions’ and mares’ restrooms, the shower area of the little gym was unisex. It was stupid to be even slightly anxious because of naked ponies, given that nearly all of Equestria’s denizens trotted about wearing nothing at all, yet the prospect of being around her naked coworkers set her nerves on edge.

She rushed past the shower area, breathed a sigh of relief, and made a beeline to the lockers. The only things she’d brought with her were her towel, her keys, and a bottle of water she’d grabbed before leaving her room, though she couldn’t keep them with her while she was trying to work out - not practically in any case. Stashing her things, she drew a breath through her nose, paused, and lifted her snout.

Other than the smell of water and soap, a scent lingered in the air. Sweat - the subtle aroma of fresh sweat and musk filled her sinuses. Her contemptible marish brain wandered into lecherous waters, picturing big, beefy stallions washing themselves and lathering their muscular, well-toned bodies after a long, hard bout of pumping iron. Reflexively taking a second and third sniff, driven purely on instinct, she turned her head toward a nearby locker.

She couldn’t see it - heck, she couldn’t fully understand it, but she knew a stallion had thrown a dirty towel into the compartment next to where she’d stored her effects. She could practically imagine him, whoever he was, wiping himself down and chugging a sports drink to cool himself off. With a shuddering sigh, feeling a tingle creep into her loins, she growled and shook herself from her stupor. Darn it - she wasn’t supposed to be fantasizing about hunky studs, because she was, or at least had been, a perfectly straight human guy!

Using her annoyance to fuel her determination, she marched back into the gym and over to the closest vacant machine she could see. She wasn’t about to go over and use one of the treadmills, hoping to avoid Aegis for as long as she could, and there was no way she was going to risk hurting herself by lifting heavy weights, leaving her with few options to choose from. Cocking her head down at the unfamiliar contraption, she knit her brow.

The piece of equipment had no moving parts that she could see, save for an angled pad that could be adjusted by height, and there weren’t any instructions on it to speak of. Her eyes wandered over the device while she tried to figure out its intended use. Carefully stepping over what she presumed was a rest, she hooked her fetlocks under a cushioned bar and eased herself down.

With her hind legs held by the firm piece of metal, and her hips situated over the angled pad, she carefully eased her weight down. Though she’d never been a gym rat or jock, she had seen people using similar machines on Earth - the problem was, the anatomy of a horse was a far departure from that of a human. She said a small prayer as she lifted her forelegs and placed her hooves behind her head.

“One…two…three…” she quietly counted aloud, rhythmically lifting and lowering her upper torso by contracting and relaxing the muscles of her back.

If she was doing something wrong, the small number of ponies in the room were either too polite or embarrassed to correct her. Finishing a set of ten, already feeling a tingling sensation in her back, she lowered her chest and slowed her breathing. The position she was in was a bit awkward, having her tush raise while her face hovered inches from the floor, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as she’d initially thought it would be.

After a few seconds passed, having prepared herself for her second set, she happened to look back and noticed somepony standing directly behind her. In the blink of an eye, realizing she may be getting eyed up by some pervert, she attempted to wheel around and made a spectacle of herself. One of her hind legs was snatched free, though the other remained trapped under the cushioned bar, causing her to tumble ass over teakettle.

She yelped as she rolled to one side and landed on her back with her hind legs splayed. The pegasus stallion who was lifting weights, distracted by the inappropriate and comedic sight of her, nearly dropped his barbell, overcorrected, and went crashing into a wall, while another gymgoer tripped on his jump rope and face planted on the floor. The only creature who hadn’t busted their behind was the stud who stepped over, offered a forehoof, and peered down at her with a concerned look in his golden eyes.

“You ok?” Aegis asked.

Only reluctantly taking his proffered hoof, she shook her hind leg free, rolled slightly, and allowed him to help her stand. “Aside from my pride, yeah, I’m totally fine.”

He shifted from one side to the other, looking her over. “You sure?”

“I mean, I don’t feel like I broke or hurt anything,” she grumbled, experimentally kicking out and shaking her legs one by one.

Unable to face him, feeling herself flush, she peered over at the pair of stallions struggling to get their hooves under themselves. She’d been working out for a whopping five minutes, if that long, before she’d almost hurt herself, flashed her goods, nearly caused two ponies to injure themselves, and been approached by the stallion she was hoping to avoid. Leaving Aegis where he stood, she trotted to one of the groaning stallions while waving at the other.

“I’ll check on this one,” she began, “you check on the other one.”

Trotting over and helping the stallion who’d fallen into the wall up, she watched as Aegis ignited his horn and unraveled the rope from around the second pony’s legs. She wasn’t sure how the centurion felt about their one-night stand, but she had very conflicting feelings on the matter. It wasn’t like she’d hated the tryst - if anything, she’d actually enjoyed herself more than she cared to admit, but she didn’t want him to think she was some floozy.

After he’d finished and handed the jump rope back to the blushing stallion, Aegis trotted over to her. “He ok?”

“Just a little banged up,” the pegasus groused, dusting himself off. “Thanks…”

“Don’t sweat it,” Snowy and Aegis answered in unison.

She locked eyes with him for a fleeting instant before quickly averting her gaze. “You owe me a coke…”

“I…what?” Aegis asked, peaking a brow. “What’s a coke?”

“It’s - um - a kirin expression,” she murmured, pinching the bridge of her snout. “It’s a drink that -”

“Princess on deck!” the pegasus loudly and quite formally blared, snapping to attention.

Snowy, Aegis, and the third unnamed stallion all looked to the door as Twilight Sparkle stopped and dismissively waved a hoof. “I’m just here to - uh - stretch my hooves!” she bleated, dismissively waving a wing and a forehoof at the quartet. “Don’t mind me! Nope! Just pretend I’m not here!”

Half expecting to hear ominous cackling from the ether, Snowy scanned the room for any trace of a lurking Draconequus. She could understand running into Aegis, and it wasn’t that unbelievable for her to flounder while using a piece of pony exercise equipment, but showing off her naughty bits and having Twilight spontaneously appear was basically unbelievable. If Discord wasn’t pulling some strings to amuse himself, she must have had the worst luck in all of Equestria.

Taking his eyes off the Princess, Aegis turned to face her. “So what brings you here?”

“Oh, you know, I thought this would be the perfect spot to make an ass of myself while trying to get on the castle’s disability payroll,” she forcibly laughed while reaching out and gently punching his shoulder. “What’s it look like I’m doing, you goober?”

He looked down at where she’d playfully struck him, smiled, then lifted his gaze to her. “Looks like you could use some pointers before you actually hurt yourself,” he chuckled. His mirth was gone as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a pained expression. “T…that was a joke…”

Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t help but smirk. “I know, but you’re not wrong. Honestly, I don’t know the first thing about using any of this stuff - well, aside from the treadmills and the jump ropes.”

“If…” he trailed off and shifted in place. “If you wanted me to, I could show you how to use some of this stuff.”

She lifted a hoof and opened her mouth, moments from politely declining the offer, but remained silent. Hubris would be her undoing, leading to a battered ego and quite possibly an actual injury, so it would behoove her to take him up on the offer. As she gazed up at his face and wondered if he was blushing because of the impromptu show she’d just put on or for some other, mysterious reason, she shook her head and noticed a purple figure lingering only a few feet behind him.

“Can we help you, Twilight?” she flatly asked, glowering over at the alicorn.

“I was - er - excuse me!” the Princess stammered, trotting over and levitating a pair of kettlebells from off the floor beside Aegis. “Oh yeah, I can feel the burn! That’s - Ugh - a super good pump for the augurium cortex!”

Leaving Twilight to do whatever it was she was doing, completely convinced that she was going to be eavesdropped upon, Snowy strolled past the alicorn and over to the row of treadmills. Her instincts told her that the Princess was there to spy on her, using her trip to the gym as a convenient means to surveil her, but she wasn’t going to let that drive her out - on the contrary, having the nosy mare around made her want to stay purely out of spite. Stepping up and onto one of the machines, she squinted at what appeared to be a control panel of some sort.

As Aegis walked onto the treadmill beside her, she pointed a forehoof down at the little array of crystals. “What’s that?”

“I thought you knew how to use these?” he countered, calling upon his magic and setting his machine in motion.

“I meant I know how to use some treadmills,” she huffed. “The ones we have back home weren’t powered - we just get on them and start trotting or cantering.”

Nodding down at the panel, he brought his machine to a stop. “The crystal matrix just needs a jump-start to go. The more magic you pump in, the faster it will move!”

She tapped one of the inset gemstones and snorted. “What about pegasi and earth ponies?”

Stepping onto the wheeled track beside her, he reached down and turned one of the crystals. “They do work for non-magic users, but the stones have to be replaced periodically. The emerald controls the power - turn it clockwise to increase the speed or counterclockwise to slow it down.”

“Huh…” she grunted. “You know, that’s actually pretty clever - like really clever.”

“Mmmhmm,” he hummed, sidling over and leaving a small gap between them. “I’m kind of surprised you don’t have this sort of tech in your homeland.”

Feeling a cold chill course through her, she stiffened. It had been no easy task, but she’d managed to avoid any protracted or in-depth conversations about kirins since she’d returned to Canterlot. She shook her head and risked a glance over at Twilight, saw the Princess intently watching her, and scowled.

“Can I help you?” she muttered, turning to face the alicorn.

Setting the pair of weights down, Twilight stepped closer to her. “As a matter of fact, yes. I’m extremely curious to hear about you and your kind.”

Her plan to cow the Princess down had done more than backfire, it had blown up in her face spectacularly. Suddenly at a loss, she pursed her lips and grimaced. While she was curious to find out why Twilight had been tailing and spying on her, confronting the alicorn in a public area would be less than ideal. As she trotted off the treadmill and past her stalker, she did the only thing she could think to do - she gave up.

“Maybe later,” she growled.

There was only so much bull crap she could handle, and she’d passed her limit somewhere between nearly breaking her leg and fumbling to explain why she couldn’t do something so simple as use a piece of exercise equipment. Giving the Princess a wide berth, she rushed into the locker room to gather her things. Maybe she’d been wrong, maybe she would have been better off staying in her room or just taking a trot through town.

As she reached her locker, ignoring the alluring bouquet of the changing room, the sound of cantering hooves behind her caused her to turn. “What?”

“Can we talk?” Aegis breathed.

She turned and looked over at the stallion. While she would have excused him for being upset, the wounded look on his face spoke of a larger issue at play. Realizing she was between a rock and one of several hard places, she hung her head and closed her eyes. She figured it would only be a matter of time before Aegis wanted to chat with her, especially since she’d been doing what she could to dodge him, though this wasn’t the place to have what would more than likely be a heavy chat.

“Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” she inquired, peeking up at him.

Thinking for a moment, he slowly nodded. “There’s a yoga room across the hall; if it’s empty, we could probably use it without anypony bothering us.”

Snatching her towel, keys, and bottle of water out of her locker, she waved to the exit and gave a small bow. “Lead the way…”

As he nodded, turned away, and trotted out, she followed along behind him. The way she saw it, things were about to go one of two ways: either he was going to corner her and press her on something she’d rather not discuss, or he’d picked up on her anxiety and just wanted to check on her. Glancing to the side and seeing the Princess watching her, she forced a smile and waved a hoof.

One of the most frustrating mysteries that continued dogging her was why in the heck Twilight was snooping around in her business. She could see why the Princess was curious about Anon’s disappearance and her sudden presence in the castle, but that wasn’t enough reason to have the alicorn acting like some would-be sleuth! Frowning as she stepped out of the gym and into the corridor just outside, she noticed Aegis turn and open a door on the other side of the hallway.

“We’re good,” he noted, waving for her to follow him in.

She slowed as she entered the small chamber. Aside from a neat stack of rolled mats and what looked to be pillows in the corner, there was nothing that gave any clues about fitness. With polished, hardwood floors, a wall consisting of mirrors, and two large windows overlooking Canterlot, the room was actually quite comfy and didn’t reek of sweat nearly as much as the gym itself.

Kicking the door closed behind her, she quirked a brow over at him.

“You wanted to talk?” she began, bracing herself for the worst.

“Listen, I don’t want to be rude, but you can’t speak to Twilight like that,” he quietly but firmly stated. “While she may be the youngest Princess around, excluding Flurry Heart, she’s still a Princess.”

Biting back a smile and a sigh of relief, she looked to the floor. “Sorry. It’s just that she’s been acting…” she paused, choosing her words carefully. “She’s been acting odd. I don’t know what’s going on, but a few of the maids have told me they’ve seen her following me. You don’t think I’m in trouble or anything ~ do you?”

“I…I don’t think so,” he uneasily responded. “Neither Celestia or Luna have mentioned anything about you to the royal guards - if they had, I would definitely have heard about it. Have either of the Princesses changed your schedule or duties recently?”

She shook her head and quickly thought back to her last few weeks’ of work. “No. Since I started, I’ve been doing the same things on a set schedule.”

“In that case, I wouldn’t worry about it,” he remarked. “This stays between us, but I’ve heard that Twilight can be a bit eccentric. There are stories about how reclusive and neurotic she was when she was Celestia’s pupil. I’m sure she’s a good pony, and she’d saved all our bacon on a number of occasions, though I wouldn’t be surprised if she just has some weird fascination with kirins.”

“Heh ~” she chuckled. “Come to think of it, that does make sense.”

It was a well known fact that Applejack and Fluttershy, the Elements of Honesty and Kindness respectively, had been the ones to rediscover the kirin subspecies, but that was only part of the story. According to Rain Shine, shortly after the pair of ponies had left, Twilight had appeared and attempted to study the isolated tribe. She could understand the prestige which came from being the first to learn about a long-lost variety of equine, but that was hardly an excuse to be overly pushy or, in her case, clumsily clandestine with research!

Turning her attention back to Aegis, she grinned. “Thanks for that…”

With his eyes widening, he started. “Thanks for…?”

“For offering to help with the treadmill and for warning me about Twilight,” she explained. “I’ll try to be a little more mindful about how I speak to her.”

“Listen, I just don’t want you to get in any trouble,” he mused as the corners of his lips turned up. “And don’t mention it. Like I mentioned back in the diner, I’d be more than happy to help you develop a little routine.”

Feeling much better than she had minutes prior, she cocked her hips and turned a forehoof through the air. “And what sort of routine would you suggest?”

“If you’re just trying to maintain or lose a bit of weight, calisthenics and some cardio would be more than enough,” he replied. “Actually, I had a question for you about that - well, two questions actually.”

She shrugged as she wandered over to the nearest window to peek outside. “Shoot.”

Trotting up to her side, he gazed out onto the cityscape. “Purely out of curiosity, is there something you’re trying to accomplish at the gym? The reason I ask is because I used to lead PT back at the guard academy.”

“Don’t laugh,” she grouched, turning and prodding him in the chest, “but I just don’t want to get fat. I get some exercise on the clock, what with all the trotting around I do, but I don’t think that’s enough to balance out all those tasty snacks the cafeteria has.”

Chuckling then quickly falling silent when he noticed her squinting at him, he held a forehoof to his chest. “I can totally respect that, really. If I were in your position, the first thing I’d do is to start a diet journal - you know, jot down what you eat, when you eat it, and how much you have. After about a month or so of keeping that up, you should have a good idea of your nutritional intake. As far as exercising, about thirty minutes of cardio a day would be a good starting point. Power trotting, a light canter, jump rope, going up and down stairs - anything to elevate your heart rate, make you breathe hard, and get you sweaty.”

His mention of sweat drew her eye to the lustrous sheen of perspiration covering him from hoof to head. She hadn’t noticed it before, probably because she’d been too distracted to pay it any mind, but the sweat on him somehow amplified his adonic build. The contours of his muscular chest, shoulders, and flanks were like something you’d see in a naughty magazine, momentarily derailing her thought and causing her mind to wander.

“You get me?” he pressed.

Sensing her mouth beginning to water, she willed herself not to step closer to him. “I think so. Any suggestions on good calisthenics?”

“There are a few that would be good for beginners - actually, if you’re interested, I could walk you through some of them,” he chirped. “I usually do some after I’m finished with a workout to loosen up. Care to join me?”

“Buck it,” she snickered. “But you gotta promise not to make fun of me if I do something wrong, because I’ve never been the athletic type.”

Standing tall, he held his head high and pressed a forehoof to his chest. “Colt Scout’s honor. Go grab two yoga mats from the corner while I open the windows and get us a bit of a breeze since it’s a little stuffy in here.”

She deeply inhaled as she trotted away from him, thankful that he was going to get the room some fresh air. While she’d only detected the slightest hint of it, uncertain of what she’d been smelling at first, his natural fragrance had tickled her sinuses and reminded her of just how incredibly good he smelled. Snatching up two of the elongated mats, she told herself to focus on the task at hoof.

“Alright,” she harrumphed, returning to the center of the room with two of the pads draped over her back, “now what?”

Levitating the pads off of her and to the floor, he stepped onto one of the slim cushions and squared his stance. “Full squats would be a good starting exercise. Just put your hooves shoulder width apart, slowly lower yourself to the floor, then push yourself back up - see, just like this.”

Seeing him demonstrate the procedure, she blew a raspberry. “I wanted beginner exercises - not foal exercises!”

He smiled over at her while he continued to move. “Say that after you do three sets of twenty.”

Rolling her eyes and following his movements, she quickly regretted her words. The first five squats were relatively easy, the second and third five were more challenging, and the final few were a struggle to complete. Gritting her teeth and pushing herself up, feeling her blood pumping, she tried to control her breathing.

“Easy,” she grunted.

“That’s the first set,” he hummed. “We’ll take a minute’s break before we do the second one.”

Though she’d been nearly salivating over him not but a few minutes ago, her mouth went dry. She’d barely completed the first set cleanly ~ how the hay was she going to do another two without her legs giving out? Shaking her legs out her legs one at a time, wiped a bang of mane from her face.

As he got back into position, he nodded over at her. “Ready?”

“Bring it on,” she growled, putting on as brave of a face as she could muster.

She followed along with him while he counted aloud, rhythmically lowering her body and rising back into a standing position. For something so simple, the activity was far harder than she would have assumed - probably because of the slow, smooth way in which she was moving. Setting her jaw and clamping her eyes shut, she snorted and gave a silent thanks to the heavens as she finished her twentieth rep.

“Not too bad!” he chirped, hovering her water over to her. “Give yourself a drink and trot around a bit; you’ve only got one more set to go!”

Uncapping the bottle with her teeth, she took a long draught of water while she watched him canter in place. She wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that he was putting her to absolute shame after he’d already been working out, or that he was still exercising while she was taking her breather! Growing increasingly annoyed, she sat her drink down and prepared herself for her third and final set.

“You got this,” he told her, slowing his pace and allowing her to keep up with him. “If you keep this up, I might talk to the Captain about recruiting you for the guard.”

“Shut - Nnnnph - up,” she wheezed, straining as her legs quaked and threatened to buckle.

“Eighteen…nineteen…” he continued. “Come on, Snowy! You can do it!”

The twentieth rep took everything she had and more, but she hadn’t been alone. Hearing the telltale sign of magic and feeling her weight lighten by a slight degree, she fought through the discomfort and locked her legs. She would have - should have been proud of herself, although her victory felt hollow.

“Do me a favor,” she croaked, mopping sweat from her brow, “next time, don’t help me cheat.”

“It’s called spotting,” he clarified. “If somepony is lifting or pushing themselves to the brink, you help them to finish their set.”

Marching over to him with wisps of smoke rolling off her back and her lips curling over her fangs, she poked his chest and peered up at his face. “Well don’t do that to me unless I ask for it.”

He gave her a small salute and shied back. “Yes, ma’am. For the record, I didn’t mean to tick you off.”

Her chest heaved and she breathed heavily while she studied him. He didn’t seem to be deceiving her, and she had heard about spotters in gyms before, so there was an all too real chance she was making a mountain out of a molehill - still, nearly failing had fueled her determination. She may have felt like a newborn fawn, her legs quivering and trembling under her, but she wasn’t finished yet.

“What’s another exercise I could do,” she panted.

He paused, studied her for a moment, and eventually relented as her expression hardened. “Crunches are a good one.”

“I know I can do those,” she asserted, flopping to the floor and rolling onto her back. “Hold my hind legs for me.”

Seating himself, he placed his forehooves on her fetlocks. “You’re not a quitter, are you?”

Placing her forehooves to either side of her temples, she shook her head and did a sit-up. “Nope - Nnnf - my mama didn’t raise a quitter.”

Keeping her eyes closed, she did one crunch after another - sadly, her enthusiasm far outclassed her neglected muscles. Somewhere around the twentieth sit-up, feeling her abs beginning to tingle and burn, she realized she was about to hit a failure point. Though she was upset with herself and her pitiable performance, especially while in the company of somepony in tip-top shape, she tamped down her irritation and made a solemn vow that she’d use her failure as motivation to improve.

“S…sweet Celestia…” she gasped, easing herself back and staring up at the ceiling.

Propping herself up on one elbow, having expected him to make a comment, be it an encouraging one or not, she looked down and froze. He remained where he sat and dutifully held her fetlocks, yet his attention was on anything but her fitness. Following his gaze, peeking down at her nethers, she rolled her eyes.

“Really?” she flatly grunted.

He snapped from his trance in an instant, shot to his hooves, and waved a foreleg back and forth. “It’s not w…what it looks like!”

His blush, his stammer, and the stallionhood slowly emerging to hang beneath him ran contrary to what he was saying. Casually getting up and turning to face him, she had snickered. Many mares would have been angry, and justifiably so - then again, she wasn’t an ordinary mare. If she’d been in his position, given a picturesque view of a plump marehood and pair of teats, she would have done the same thing as him.

“So what did it look like?” she countered, unable to keep herself from taking advantage of the situation.

“Well - um - you see, I was - uh - checking your technique,” he warily responded.

Seconds from calling him out, she was hit with divine inspiration. “If that’s what you’re worried about, maybe you should demonstrate for me…”

Her assertion took him completely off guard and nearly sent him reeling. “I don’t know if -”

“Ah ah -” she tutted, advancing on him, “you’re the fitness expert, mister hot stuff, so why don’t you show me how it’s done. Go on, lay down and let me hold your fetlocks for you.”

He eyed the door, possibly considering making a break for it, before he groaned. “Alright…”

Sitting down as he rolled onto his back, she extended her forelegs and grabbed him just above his hind hooves. The sight of him laying before her, slick with sweat and with his stallionhood getting harder by the second, was a thing of beauty. As he started doing crunch after crunch, making a concerted effort to avoid looking up at her, her depths hungrily seized.

Though she was loath to admit it, her passionate night with him had been nothing short of mind blowing - so much so that she’d shamefully gotten off to the memory on several occasions. Subconsciously drifting closer to him, bringing her snout nearer to his nethers, she deeply inhaled and shivered when his scent filled her nose. He looked good, he smelled good, she had no doubt that he tasted good, and he sure as heck felt good - in short, he was a feast for the senses.

The sound of a clearing throat rocked her back to the present and brought her attention up to his face. At some point, though she knew not when, he’d stopped exercising and simply laid there to watch her. The air hung silent, they held each other’s gaze, and the awkward moment stretched on for what felt like a small eternity.

“I’m…” she muttered, staring him down, “I was looking at your goods - you know, since that’s what you were doing to me a hoofful of seconds ago.”

Smiling up at her, he chuckled and shook his legs free. “Gotta give you points for being honest,” he noted, getting his hooves under him and rising to his full height. Turning to and looming over her, he smirked. “So what’s the plan now?”

Her marish instincts rattled at the cage her sensibilities had put in place, compelling her to do any number of things that would be anything but appropriate. It was as clear as day that he found her attractive, some part of her certainly found him easy on the eyes, and she’d wager that a few carefully chosen words or a bit of teasing would be all it would take to have them getting very frisky. Tilting her head up at him, she inched closer.

“You tell me,” she purred.

He shuffled forward, lifted a foreleg, and drew his hoof across her cheek and down her neck. “Maybe we could…” Cutting himself off, he backed away. “Sorry. Listen, I…I gotta go…”

“But…” she breathed, remaining motionless as he headed to the exit. “Wait!” she shouted, bringing him to a stop. Seeing him look back at her, she gave ground to her impulses. “I was serious about wanting to get in shape,” she continued, “and…”

Looking into her eyes, he lingered with a forehoof on the doorknob. “And…?”

“And…and I want you to help me with my magic,” she sighed. “Please don’t tell anypony, but I’m not very good with my horn. I promise I’ll behave myself next time ~ ok?”

It was a gamble, spilling the beans about her fumbling grasp of the arcane, but what choice did she have? Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, she was somehow angry, horny, and sad all at the same time, and he was the only pony in the castle she could trust - well, besides Silver. At the end of the day she wanted to get in better shape and she needed to hone her nonexistent magical skills - two things he could legitimately help her with.

With the faintest hint of a smile on his muzzle, he gave an almost imperceptible nod. “Only if you promise not to make it weird.”

She proudly held up a foreleg and gave a small bow at him. “Promise.”

He gave her one final nod before departing and leaving her by her lonesome. There were several things she needed in that moment, including a cold shower to wash off and dislodge the persistent, perverse thoughts from her mind, but she was thankful things hadn’t been worse. She hadn’t done anything naughty with him, she’d held her tongue around Twilight, and she’d only managed to make herself look foolish in front of three ponies - a pyrrhic victory but a victory nonetheless. Grabbing her towel, bottle, and keys, she took a sip of water and looked back to the mat Aegis had been laying on. As long as she could get a rein on her libido, she knew everything was going to work out alright…

Chapter 4

View Online

Snowy shook her head and suddenly realized she had no idea where she was going as she came to an intersection within the castle. What the buck was going on with her? She knew she was on the clock, remembering leaving the throne room to do something, but darned if she could recall what she’d been tasked with! Closing her eyes, she took a breath to collect herself.

For the better part of a week, she’d found it harder and harder to concentrate - worse still, she felt off. It would have been easy for her to tell if she was getting sick when she’d been human, but that wasn’t the case with her new body. Being a kirin meant her body temperature, appetite, and the way she perceived the world were different from what she was used to, leaving her to sort out what was normal and what wasn’t on her lonesome.

“You ok?” a rich voice intoned from behind her.

Looking over her shoulder and spotting a guard moving up to her side, she gave a weary nod. “Yeah, I just got turned around.”

The stallion studied her for a moment before continuing along his way. Ordinarily speaking, she wouldn’t have given the brief interaction any thought whatsoever - unfortunately for her, as soon as he trotted by, her mental faculties faltered entirely. As she gazed longingly at his backside, watching his toned glutes slide past one another, a tingle crept into her loins.

Staring at his tush while wondering if he had a special somepony in his life, she bit her bottom lip. Though his name and rank eluded her, his physique and the concern he’d expressed for her did not. She subconsciously stepped to one side and leaned over to give herself a better look at him. His snow white coat was immaculately brushed, the golden armor adorning his muscular frame had a mirrored finish, and the way he carried himself spoke of a well-trained soldier - nevertheless, her interest in him lay elsewhere.

Spying his meaty, fat coin purse, she ground her thighs together. Oh yeah - she could tell at a glance that he was a real stud, somepony who could pump a foal or two into a mare, and the thought of him pinning her down and claiming her as his personal broodmare wrought havoc upon her. Feeling but ignoring her flagging tail, she started when he turned to face her.

“Is - uh - is everything alright?” he inquired.

The simple question sundered the spell and brought her back to her senses. “Huh?”

“You were staring kind of hard,” he asserted, peaking a brow.

“N…no I wasn’t,” she stuttered, lying through her teeth.

The crushing weight of what had just happened fell heavily upon her, filling her with dread. She’d just been caught red hoofed eyeing this stallion, somepony she didn’t even know, like he was a Grade-A cut of studly meat. Confused, aroused, and more than a little self-conscious, she did the only thing her frazzled mind would allow her to do - she turned tail and ran.

She may not have been able to tell exactly what it was, but something was definitely wrong. While it was understandable and completely forgivable for somepony to become scatterbrained from time to time, her predicament was so much worse than that. Glancing back to ensure she wasn’t being followed, she charged head first into something that sent her crashing to the floor.

“Ugh…” she groaned, wincing and rubbing her head.

Looking up and expecting to find a wall, she swallowed hard when she noticed a guard, one even bigger and more heavily built than the one she’d just fled from, looming over her. Backlit by a window and with a concerned look on his face, he extended a hoof to her. Her heart skipped a beat, her mouth went dry, and her marehood seized upon itself, as she gazed up at the angelic visage over her.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, “you must have -”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah,” she wailed, scrambling up to her hooves and scampering away for her life.

What was happening? Why was she so gosh darned horny! Who had she just run into? Assailed by dozens upon dozens of questions, she came to a skidding halt when a terrifying explanation reared its head. Her temperature, the mental fog, her fixation with stallions, they all pointed to one thing - she was in heat.

Though there was nothing inherently shameful about it, the notion of being a slave to her biology made her blood run cold. Forcing herself to control her breathing, she looked around for somewhere to gather her thoughts. Being in the middle of her shift meant that disappearing would cause problems, problems she’d rather not deal with, but forcing herself to keep working could and likely would end in disaster.

Knowing what she had to do, yet she was apprehensive to actually do it. Princess Celestia, being a magnanimous pony and one of the very few who was aware of her unique situation, could do two things: excuse her from her duties and confirm her suspicions. Getting her bearings, she wheeled around and began making her way back to the throne room. It wasn’t going to be fun, and it sure wasn’t looking forward to it, but the kindly alicorn was the only one she could turn to about something so delicate.

Either by circumstance or sheer dumb luck, she was able to avoid bumping into anypony until she’d reached the first floor of the keep. The ground level of the castle was always bustling with activity, barring the dead of night or on public holidays, so it was no surprise that there’d be townsponies, tourists, and staff members doing this or that - that being said, paying them no mind was a herculean endeavor. Try as she might, keeping her head down and eyes to the floor, she wasn’t able to disappear.

Darn it - if she wasn’t a stupid kirin, a species that next to nopony had heard about, much less seen in person, it would have been easy for her to trot along without drawing any attention to herself - as things were, like it or not, she stood out like a sore thumb. Keeping her pace and weaving past various ponies, she disregarded the hushed whispers and curious looks around her. Regardless of her hunch and how the rest of her day played out, her uniqueness was one facet of the curse Rain had put upon her.

As she continued onward, drawing closer and closer to her destination, the memory of the kirin matriarch and the rush of emotions it evoked proved a valuable, if not infuriating distraction. She hadn’t heard from Rain in well over a month, and she was starting to worry the ruler didn’t view returning her to her original state as a priority. While being a mare wasn’t that bad most of the time, having invasive, extremely inappropriate thoughts was enough to make her reassess how difficult her new life could be.

After seeing her way past the praetorians flanking the open throne room, she breathed a sigh of relief. The room was mostly empty, allowing her to make what she sure hoped would be a brief chat with the Princess relatively uncomplicated. She smiled and waved up at Celestia as she made her approach, keeping her hooves crossed that the alicorn would take pity on her.

“Snowy,” Celestia cheerfully began, “done with fetching those writing quills already?”

“I - um - no,” Snowy grumbled, trotting up to the throne. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t being spied upon, she lowered her voice. “I hate to ask, but can I go home for the day?”

Celestia’s ears perked up and her joyful expression wavered. “Is everything alright?”

“I…” Snowy fell silent as she chose her words carefully. She’d rather not discuss something so sensitive with anypony, much less her employer, so she shook her head. “I’m fine, but I don’t want to talk about it. I can work extra hours to make up for -”

“That’ll hardly be necessary,” the Princess interrupted, reaching out to softly pat her shoulder. “If there’s some private matter you have to attend to, I’ll…”

Holding her breath and fruitlessly for the alicorn to continue, Snowy shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll…?”

Without any warning whatsoever, Celestia closed her eyes and sniffed the air. “Is that…” she went quiet as she went rigid and stared down at the kirin. “Are you…”

Sweat beaded Snowy’s brow, her blood ran cold, and a knot formed in her stomach. Buck - the Princess knew about her not so little problem! Shuffling back and creating some space between herself and the regal demigod, she fought to keep herself from flying into a panic. Celestia was a fair and caring ruler, but she’d seen firsthoof that the alicorn had a mischievous side.

“Listen, Princess, I really have to go,” she murmured, slowly backing away. “I’ll try to be back in the morning.”

She didn’t wait for a reply, choosing to accept any possible punishment over prolonging the interaction. Chatting with the Princess in her current state would be a fool’s errand - not because she was completely helpless, but because the impish smirk she’d seen splitting the alicorn’s muzzle told her everything she needed to know. Having nearly reached the exit, she stopped dead in her tracks when the diarch loudly cleared her throat.

“Y…yes, P…P…Princess?” she sputtered, falteringly looking back at the alicorn.

“Given your stellar work ethic and the - Ahem - delicate circumstances, I’ll allow you to take the day - no, the rest of the week off. Please inform Ms. Inkwell that you’ll need a substitute until next Monday.”

A genuine smile split Snowy’s features as she turned and gave a deep, full bow to the Princess. “Thank you so much. I don’t -”

“I’m not quite finished,” Celestia continued, cutting her off and unseating herself. Coolly trotting over to her, she dipped head. “Cool showers before work and a nice, steamy romance novel to curl up with before bed usually help me get through such trying times…”

Snowy’s jaw practically hit the floor as the words sank in. Had Celestia, one of the oldest and most powerful mares on the entire planet, just given her advice for how to deal with what she assumed was her heat? She should have been grateful, she should have thanked the Princess for the sage wisdom, yet she was mortified. Unable to speak and unsure of what she’d even say, she watched the alicorn turn away from her.

“If those don’t help, there’s one other thing you could try,” Celestia noted. “There’s a particular shop that sells marital -”

There was only so much somepony could stand before they broke - for Snowy, the mere hint that the alicorn was going to suggest buying a sex-toy was the final straw. Dashing out and into the hallway, she ran as fast and as hard as her four legs could carry her. If there was one thing she needed - genuinely needed in that moment, it was some space to decompress.

She didn’t stop until she’d galloped through the courtyard, out into the city, and down the first vacant alleyway she laid eyes upon. Taking refuge behind a stack of palates, she heaved air into her chest and fought to catch her breath. While she wasn’t necessarily worried about Celestia spilling the beans about her condition to anypony, she was concerned that there’d been other ponies, namely the pair of stallions she’d encountered less than an hour ago, who’d figured out she was in estrus.

Seating herself and burying her face in her hooves, she put her mind to work. She’d been in Equestria for long enough to hear about heat cycles, the hormonally charged bouts of fertility in mares, so she dredged up every use of information her memory could deliver. As a vague recollection struck her, remembering a conversation she’d overheard many months prior, she lowered her snout and sniffed herself.

It was hard to tell if she smelled any different than usual, having effectively become nose blind to her scent, but her instincts told her that her particular bouquet was what had given her plight away to the Princess. Since ponies had a darn good sense of smell, several times more sensitive than a human’s, it only made sense that there was an olfactory component involved with reproductive cycles - in fact, she’d heard that some animals on earth used their noses to select mates. Rolling her head back and staring up at the sky, feeling utterly defeated and completely helpless, she was hit with a bolt from the blue.

If her natural fragrance was something that could alert ponies to her heat, it only made sense that she mask it some way - possibly with an unnatural fragrance. As she stood and started to pace in the cramped backstreet, she rubbed her chin. Getting some perfume would be easy enough to pull off in the capital, but that would only address one facet of her conundrum.

As a light breeze washed over her, cooling the dampened fur of her loins and inner thighs, she was reminded of another element. Her treacherous body, no matter what she tried, refused to obey her - as such, covering herself would mitigate the chances of somepony taking note of her persistently aroused state. She chuckled to herself and peered out to the street, both amused and emboldened by her staggering shrewdness.

A dress, preferably a conservative one, and some perfume - yes, those would be the ticket. While the items wouldn’t solve her problem, they potentially would make it much easier to go out and about without looking like a lusty harlot. Filled with righteous determination, she set off in the direction of the Canterlot Carousel.

She didn’t have any bits with her, but that wouldn’t be as big of a problem for her as it would be for most ponies. Since she worked for the Princesses, the boutique would probably be willing to let her pay for a purchase later that afternoon - plus it wasn’t like the shop didn’t do a metric ton of business with the castle. She stuck mainly to smaller roads and backstreets as she went along, steering clear of more heavily traveled areas, until the unmistakable building came into view.

The last and potentially biggest hurdle would be getting in and out of the shop as quickly as possible. She couldn’t have cared less what sort of dress or perfume she picked up, though there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t have to deal with other customers or suffer the platitudes of Sassy. On any other day, at any other time, she really wouldn’t have been bothered to strike up a conversation with the tall, svelte unicorn seamstress, but gossiping and small talk was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

Trotting into the boutique, she scanned the interior. As luck would have it, there appeared to be only two or three ponies browsing wares, meaning she’d be able to get her things and leave without dealing with anypony. Just as she went to trot over to the mares section, she spotted a figure moving straight towards her - a snow white, indigo-maned, blue eyed figure.

“Welcome to the Canterlot Carousel, how can - Oh my!” Rarity gasped, nearly tripping over herself at the sight of her. “A kirin, here in Canterlot?!”

With an extreme exertion of willpower, Snowy kept her eyes from rolling. “Hello.”

Rarity closed the gap between them in an instant and came to a halt at an uncomfortably close distance. “Darling, that coat, those eyes, and that glorious mane of yours are simply divine!”

“I - uh - thanks?” she warily replied, taken aback.

“You simply must let me - Rarity, where are your manners?!” the unicorn admonished herself, stepping back and extending a forehoof. “My apologies, it’s just so rare to see one of you! As I was saying, welcome to the Canterlot Carousel. How can I be of assistance today?”

Fighting the urge to flee, she found the fortitude to maintain her smile. She’d only met Rarity once, shortly after arriving in Equestria when she’d been human, but she knew the couture was close friends with Twilight and was the bearer of the Element of Generosity. Considering the Princess of Friendship was still stalking her for some darn reason, she needed to play her cards very, very carefully.

Giving the seamstress’ hoof a small shake, she wandered away. “I’m just here to pick out a dress.”

“Well you’ve most certainly come to the right place!” Rarity proudly proclaimed, trailing after her. “Might I ask, what kind of dress? Cocktail? Ball gown? Slip? Strapless? Oh - darling, you’d look absolutely gorgeous in a qipao!”

The unfamiliar word was enough to make her slow and look over at the unicorn. “A what?”

“It’s a variety of gown that, while a bit form-fitting, is typically made of silk and is all the rage,” the seamstress eagerly explained. “I feel like an arctic blue with plum blossoms and platinum - no, gold trim would suit you marvelously!”

Finding herself at a crossroads, she considered her options. On one hoof, she wanted to leave as soon as possible - on the other, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t curious about the exotic-sounding dress Rarity was referring to. Knowing that Rarity had an eye for fashion, and that getting some input on what would look good on her may come in useful, she gave a small nod.

“Well if you have something that would work, I’d be happy to give it a look,” she softly stated.

“I may not have such a garment at the ready, but that will hardly stop me from making you one!” Rarity laughed, snatching her hoof. “If any of you need me, be a dear and call me,” she loudly announced to the duo of prospective customers as she towed the kirin along.

Virtually dragged through the shop and toward the back, Snowy immediately regretted her decision. She was as far from a tailor as a pony could get, but she was savvy enough to understand that something like a dress, even a simple one, simply couldn’t be made in a single sitting. While she was guided past displays and various racks of attire, she came to another startling conclusion - if she acted too strange, there was a darn good chance that Rarity might mention her odd behavior to Twilight.

“Just stand right over there by that drafting table,” Rarity chirped, releasing her hoof as they walked through an employees only door, “I’ll only be a moment.”

Snowy slowed and surveyed the workshop. Large rolls of fabric rested in one corner, while a sewing machine and a large table adorned with pins, scissors, and scraps of cloth rested in another. The whole place was extremely tidy and well-kept, lending further weight to the renown designer’s skill with a needle and thread.

Drifting over to an organizer, she pulled open a drawer and marveled at an array of shiny buttons. “I’m guessing Sassy is out?”

“I’m afraid so,” Rarity called back. “She’s on leave to attend a fashion show in Fillydelphia. I would have gone myself, but it’s simply not fair to deny her the chance - not to mention I went to last year’s event. Ah - here we are!”

As she looked over at the returning unicorn, her eyes lingered on a length of fabric levitating beside the seamstress. “Sassy took my measurements the other week.”

“Well I’m not Sassy, darling -” Rarity tittered, extending the measuring tape, “besides, it’s my humble opinion that somepony should be fitted for every new piece of attire.”

Snowy pinched the bridge of her snout, exasperated but understanding what the couture meant. “I guess that makes sense, just don’t - H…hey!”

Pressing the tape to her side, Rarity glanced up at her face. “Be a dear and hold still for me.”

“Can’t you use your magic?” Snowy groused.

“I could, but that’s so impersonal,” Rarity responded. Running the fabric from her fetlock up to her hoof, she hovered a notepad and pen over to herself and jotted a measurement down. “I must say, your coat is quite luxurious. What sort of conditioner do you use?”

“Marebelline,” she flatly stated, doing her best to keep herself from fidgeting.

“Lift your leg for me,” the unicorn instructed.

Snowy set her jaw and did as she was asked, giving the couture access to her undercarriage. The sensation of cloth and hooves over her bosoms was blissfully excruciating, although that was only the start of things. As the fabric tape slipped up her inner thigh and to her crotch, she prayed her arousal wouldn’t be apparent.

Continuing to work without saying a thing, either too courteous or professional to mention how wet she was, Rarity measured her dock. “Bit warm out today ~ hmm?”

“Yup,” she grunted through gritted teeth.

There was no way Rarity hadn’t figured out that she was in heat. Her nipples were hard enough to cut glass, her marehood was drenched, and she couldn’t stop herself from shivering slightly as the seamstress unintentionally felt her up. As if to add insult to injury, the unicorn was genuinely attractive, well-spoken, and with looks that could kill, making the fitting process all the more harrowing.

Keeping her eyes closed, she attempted to keep her thoughts on anything but the hoof meandering over her body. She was completely aware that Rarity was simply doing a thorough job, yet the attention and the cheerful humming did little to prevent her mind from wandering into lecherous waters. For a fleeting instant, after the unicorn had moved up to her shoulders and away from her lower half, she assumed she’d gotten through the worst of it, but she was swiftly proven wrong.

“This may sound odd, but may I touch your mane?” Rarity demurely inquired.

“Sure,” she huffed, “knock yourself out.”

It wasn’t the first time somepony had asked to feel her mane, and she doubted it’d be the last, although Rarity’s definition of touching differed from the norm. Leaning in, Rarity buried her face in the soft, fluffy fur around her neck and collar. The tactile stimulation of a hoof gliding over her coat paled in comparison to having the mare nuzzling her in such a flippant, frankly unprofessional fashion.

Turning her head from side to side, Rarity giggled. “It’s so soft - much softer than I thought it would be!”

As she peered down at the unicorn, the ache in her nethers returned with a vengeance. “T…thanks. So are we done or -”

“With the measurements, yes, of course,” Rarity proclaimed, backing away and looking to her notebook. “I don’t have the fabric I’ll need to craft your qipao, but I should be able to get it in by next week - after that, it would only take me a day or two to complete your order. Have you given any thoughts to undergarments?”

Snowy balked as if stricken, unprepared for the question. “Like a pair of panties?”

“Lingerie, darling,” Rarity clarified. “A mare as fine as yourself should at least consider something ravishing to wear with the dress I’ll be making. If I may be so bold, I’d suggest a garter belt, brassiere, panties, and leggings to go with it - all in matching black lace, of course.”

Neurons activated and Snowy’s imagination ran wild as images of herself sauntering about in sinful undergarments traipsed through her head. She did enjoy the way she looked, so much so that she’d gotten off while watching herself in a mirror, but the prospect of wearing something naughty elevated her self-admiration to an entirely different level. As she began to drool from both ends, she recoiled when the seamstress broke into a fit of laughter.

“Judging from what I can only presume was a little self-indulgent fantasy you were just having, allow me to select something for you. I’ll be right back,” Rarity smugly remarked, turning and meandering back into the storefront of her shop.

“A…alright,” she breathed.

Her better judgment told her to excuse herself, to forgo even looking at anything even remotely erotic, yet she was compelled to at the very least see what Rarity was going to get. Continuing to peruse the tailor’s tools and raw materials, she mused on what the seamstress had said. While she had no dire need of undergarments, not for the least of which reasons being ponies rarely wore them, it would be nice to have a nice pair - if only to spoil herself.

“Here we are!” Rarity exclaimed, bursting into the backroom. “These should fit you perfectly!”

Watching a small parade of nearly folded garments levitating over to her, Snowy lifted a hoof. “You want me to try them on now?”

Nodding, Rarity beamed. “If it’s not too much trouble. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see how you look in them.”

“Put them on here?” Snowy pressed, drawing another nod from the mare.

Plucking the attire out of the air and setting them on the table beside herself, she discovered that she had no idea what she was doing. Putting on a pair of underwear wouldn’t be difficult, anypony could do that, but equipping herself with a bra and a garter belt was a foreign concept. Turning one of the garments over in her hoof, she suppressed a frustrated groan.

“This is going to sound really, really stupid, but can you tell me how to wear these?” she defeatedly sighed.

In a flash, Rarity was bowing at her side. “It would be my honor. There’s no shame in being unfamiliar with such luxuries. I assume that such fare is a rarity in your homeland?”

“Something like that,” she weakly laughed as the unicorn magically lifted and brought the bra beneath her.

“Brassiere first, then the panties, and finish off with the garter belt,” the unicorn instructed.

With the couture’s assistance, it only took Snowy a few minutes to get herself dressed. To her surprise, the undergarments were shockingly comfortable. Supporting her breasts and clinging snugly to her groin, tush, and waist, the articles felt far better than they had any right to, but fitting well was no sign that they suited her. Looking over to a standing mirror sat to one side of the room, she shifted and trotted over to get a look at herself.

“Holy cow,” she mumbled.

Rarity had been right about one thing - the lingerie accentuated her curves and magnified her sensuality several times over. Turning and cocking her hips, growing increasingly amused and aroused, she grinned from ear to ear. Yeah, she could definitely see why mares didn’t go out and about adorned in unmentionables - if they did, stallions would be tripping over themselves left, right, and center.

Rarity strolled up behind her and approvingly hummed. “I’m sure your special somepony will be pleasantly surprised when you strut into the bedroom wearing that.”

The mention of a special somepony was like a curse. Still frames of Aegis filled her thoughts, making it impossible not to think of the big, studly stallion who was never far from her mind. Trembling at the idea of what he could do - would do if he saw her like this, she sensed her temperature spike.

“A…are these flame retardant?” she quipped, drawing a confused look from the designer. “We, us kirin, have a habit of getting a little hot when we’re - er - feeling passionate.”

Igniting her horn and surrounding the garments with a heliotrope aura, Rarity waved a hoof. “That should do it. That little cantrip should hold for a few days, though I’d highly suggest getting a long lasting enchantment placed on them before too long.”

As happy as Snowy was, there was one thing she’d avoided asking. “And how much will these set me back?”

“Normally, they’d be thirty bits,” Rarity remarked.

Snowy squinted over at the mare. “Normally?”

“Normally,” the unicorn repeated, “but I have an offer for you. Since you’re the first kirin I’ve had the pleasure of doing business with, I’d be willing to give you the lingerie and the qipao at a heavily discounted price if you allow me to take a few photos of you modeling them.”

“And who would be seeing these photos?” she countered, turning to face her gracious host.

“Ideally, other kirin who will be doing business with me in the future,” Rarity replied. “I would submit them to Vanity Mare, but I would never ask you to -”

“Buck it - sure,” Snowy guffawed. “As long as it’s not for Play Colt, I’m game. Would I be able to pay for everything then? I should have the bits to cover all this stuff after I get paid.”

“Absolutely!” the couture squeaked in delight. Cantering over, she ensnared her in a fleeting embrace. “Just allow me to get your contact information so I can reach you as soon as your dress is completed.”

Going to follow Rarity out, she faltered. “Darn it…”

Rarity peered over her shoulder as she went to trot back into the front of the shop. “Is something the matter?”

“Yeah - well, kinda,” Snowy admitted. “I can’t go out looking like this. Let me -”

“Ah ah ah -” Rarity tutted, lifting and wagging a hoof. “You’d mentioned coming here for something simple, and I’d hate for you to leave without it,” she continued, sorcerously lifting and bringing a folded article from a stack of clothes. Once she’d inspected the tag, she moved the article over to the kirin. “This is nothing to write home about, but it should suffice.”

Taking and unfurling what she discovered was a white slip, she shifted her focus back to the mare. “And the price?”

“All told, it shouldn’t be more then a hundred bits,” Rarity laughed, motioning for her to follow. “Come now, let me get your address before you depart.”

Snowy smiled as she slipped into the dress. She’d gotten everything she wanted from her little outing and then some - best of all, she hadn’t had to shell out a single bit! With the gown covering her from the waist down, she trotted after the seamstress and to the front counter. Maybe things were finally, at long last, starting to go her way!

Chuckling after she gave her address to the unicorn, she shook her head in amusement. “Thank you again for all this. You really are the Element of Generosity.”

“Think nothing of it, miss…?” Rarity let the question hang and expectantly looked over to her.

“Snowy,” Snowy answered as she shook the mare’s hoof, “Snowy Glow. Oh and put this on my tab,” she added, grabbing a small bottle of perfume from beside the register.

“Well missus Glow, it’s been a pleasure, a true delight,” Rarity noted. “I’ll send word to the castle as soon as everything’s ready.”

Turning and trotting to the exit, Snowy waved. “Sounds perfect! I’ll see you then, Rarity.”

“And Snowy,” the unicorn called out, “if you’re inclined to share, I’d love to hear your coltfriend’s thoughts on my little gift.”

Just like that, hearing the small request, Snowy’s mind flew into a tailspin. The remark about a special somepony had been hard to endure, but the utterance of a coltfriend invoked a maelstrom within her. Heat blossomed deep in her abdomen, the breath hitched in her throat, and she felt paralyzed, as thoughts of presenting herself to Aegis in the downright sexy underwear filled her with excitement.

“Will do!” she squawked, sprinting away and through the exit.

No matter how quickly she ran, regardless of how hard she tried, she couldn’t escape the lustful musings of her mind. She could practically see herself sashaying her way up to Aegis in a candlelit room, seductively swaying her hips while peering at him with her heavily-lidded eyes. He’d be absolutely smitten by the sight of her in something so provocative, likely getting a raging hard-on before he could figure out what to say.

Oh the things she’d do to him, flaunting herself for just long enough to make him desperate to do more than just look at her. She’d start things slowly at first, caressing him and whispering sweet nothings into his ear, but that wouldn’t last for too long. Maybe she’d make him beg, or perhaps she’d tease him until he threw himself upon her - no matter how things played out, she was absolutely certain that the castle would hear her blissful howls in the dead of the night.

Blindly hurrying away from the shop, feeling as though she’d go mad, she licked her lips and felt something sharp prick her tongue. It was at that moment, only then becoming aware of her growing canines, that she realized how badly she’d screwed up. As she peeked over her shoulder and saw blazing hoofprints in her wake, fear overtook her desires.

The dress smoldered and burned away, revealing her midnight black hide and the flames rising from her tail and hooves, though the ruined garment was only one issue she had. Several ponies stared at her in a mixture of awe and dismay, stunned that a cute little mare had spontaneously combusted in the middle of the street. She’d had the good fortune of avoiding a full-blown nirik transformation since she’d become a kirin, but her luck in that regard had finally run out.

She panted and looked around in a panic. The chances were low that she’d actually end up hurting anypony, given that she had some sliver of her senses back, yet that didn’t prevent her from being a hazard and making a scene. Her eyes darted from one building to another, looking for something or somepony who might be able to help her, until they settled on a solution to her fiery problem.

Galloping at full speed, she charged down the road and flung herself into a fountain that rested near the city’s center. The cool water against her quenched the flames and sent a plume of steam billowing into the air. Had she just made a fool of herself? Most definitely. Were ponies going to be talking about how a kirin had shot like a blazing comet through the town? More than likely. Was she able to put out the flames and prevent what could have been a legitimate disaster? Without a doubt.

Reclining in the shallow pool, she slowly exhaled. She’d torched her dress, she’d forgotten to ask how much her clothes were going to cost, and she was sitting in a fountain in some very inappropriate undergarments - on the bright side, her libido had effectively died for the time being. Humiliated and feeling defeated, she stood up, stepped out of the basin, and marched in the direction of the castle.

Not a soul spoke to her while she went along, likely because anypony with even an ounce of common sense could tell she was not in the best of moods. Passing by guards, servants, and pedestrians alike, she moved with single-minded determination. She was going to get to her room, she was going to strip out of her lingerie all by herself, and she was going to take a frigid shower before eventually going to the cafeteria to procure a tub of ice cream to drown her sorrows in empty calories.

It wasn’t until she’d reached the floor with the staff’s quarters that somepony was brave or foolish enough to approach her. Hearing somepony shout her name, she looked down a corridor she was passing and spotted a familiar figure. As the silvery pegasus rushed in her direction, the barest hint of a smile graced her muzzle.

“Oh wow,” Silver gasped, trotting up and keeping pace next to her. “Those are some really, really nice duds! I’m kinda surprised you’d wear them out in public, but I can definitely appreciate how bold you are!”

Snowy kept her eyes forward while she trotted. “I didn’t plan on wearing them out.”

“Then what did - oh…” the pegasus breathed, pulling a charred scrap of fabric from her mane. “Guessing you got a little hot under the collar?”

“Something like that…” she growled. “Listen, Silver, it’s been a long, long day. Could you just -”

“Is it because of your estrus?” Silver nonchalantly inquired.

Misstepping and nearly faceplanting, Snowy glowered over at her companion. “Seriously ~ is it that obvious?”

Silver shrugged. “Kinda - well, yeah, it’s kinda obvious. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll be dealing with the same thing in about two months.”

Halting in her tracks, Snowy ground her teeth together. “How the hay does anypony deal with this?! I feel like I’m going crazy, I’m leaking like a broken faucet, and it’s impossible for me to think of anything but wanting to buck myself on a big, fat - Mmmph?!”

“Ssssssssh…” Silver hissed, muzzling her with a wing. “Keep your voice down.”

“Whatever,” Snowy snarled, slapping the wing from her face. “It’s not like I’ve had to deal with this before…”

“I know, and that’s why I want to help,” Snowy sighed. “I get off work in about two hours. If you want, I can pick up some dinner for us, meet you at your room, and give you a few tips to make this a little easier for you.”

“I…” she faltered, stunned by the mare’s kindness. “That would actually be kind of nice.”

Patting her on the shoulders and giving her a brief hug, Silver turned and trotted away. “I’ll come to your room as soon as I finish up ~ alright?”

“A…alright,” she weakly called back, waving at the retreating pegasus.

Reaching and entering her room without incident, she closed the door behind herself and threw herself onto the bed. If she’d had a bit more foresight, she would have done a bit more homework after being turned into a kirin - alas, hindsight wasn’t going to help her now. As she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, she smiled at the thought of Silver’s promise. The little maid may have been a hoofful, but she was genuinely happy to have met the plucky, happy-go-lucky mare…

Chapter 5

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“It’s fine - you’re fine,” Silver chuckled.

Hesitantly taking her forehoof away from her mane, the same mane that had been styled only a few hours prior, Snowy scrunched her snout. “Is it always this much of a hassle to go out - like, is this normal?”

Silver shook her head as she applied a bit of blush to the kirin’s cheeks. “Not for simple stuff like going to the store or out to run errands, but tonight is special!”

Staving off the temptation to complain, Snowy kept her eyes closed and held still - well, as still as she could for having sat in the same place for nearly half an hour straight. As the pegasus worked her craft, applying makeup to her face, her mind dwelled on how she’d gotten roped into this mess. When she’d initially told Silver that she was willing to do almost anything to get some rest and relaxation, she hadn’t expected this.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaand there,” the maid merrily said, stepping back and away from her. “Ok, give yourself a look.”

She anxiously cracked open an eye, peered out at her reflection, and nearly gasped. “H…holy cow!”

“Right?!?” Silver laughed, moving behind her to rub her foreleg. “Not to toot my own horn, but I think I did a pretty good job!”

Slowly turning her head from side to side, she marveled at herself. In a word, she looked stunning. Her mane had been trimmed ever so slightly and cascaded over her shoulders, while the cosmetics on her face amplified her marish features. Unable to tear her eyes off the mirror, she got to her hooves and spun around in a little circle.

Silver had done a phenomenal job with her makeup and mane, but the dress she wore tied everything together. True to her word, Rarity had finished the qipao and summoned her a mere four days after she’d made the order - sure, she’d nearly choked when she saw what the final price was, but the not inconsiderable hit to her savings had definitely been worth it. As she faced away from the mirror and peeked at her backside, she couldn’t help but crack a smile.

Just a shade lighter than her mane and traced with golden, almost oriental designs the garment was a work of art. While she’d initially been reluctant to have and wear the thing, she was gradually coming to rethink her stance on dresses. Not only was the garment functional, having been enchanted to resist temperatures far greater than anything her body could output, but it was actually remarkably light, comfortable, and modest!

“Wait,” Silver blurted, shaking her from her thoughts. “Hold still…”

Doing as asked, she stood motionless as the pegasus corrected some imperceptible flaw with her mascara. “Thanks.”

Dismissively waving a wing, Silver gently pushed her aside to start putting on her own makeup. “If you really want to thank me, let me teach you how to do this yourself. You’ll have to learn how to do this stuff sooner or later.”

“Yeah…” she sighed, trotting over to and carefully seating herself in a chair.

For a little over a week, she’d been weathering her estrus as best she could - worse still, there was no sign of it relenting anytime soon. She did have occasional respites from the hormonal maelstrom that was her heat, primarily when she was sleeping, yet being in season had been yet another reminder that she may be stuck as a mare for quite some time. Several months ago, she would have charged off to find Rainshine and demand a cure - now things were different.

Simply put, she was feeling torn. There were a great many things that she genuinely liked about being a kirin, such as her enhanced senses and how she actually fit in with everypony, yet there were a number of drawbacks as well. Her manhood and her past were gone, she’d yet to divulge her condition to anypony save for Celestia and Silver, and she was still adjusting to her body. Living as Snowy was a big, messy, mixed bag, but she could definitely say that she was getting used to and actually enjoying it - well, most of it.

Shifting and feeling the fabric of her bra caress her nipples, she softly hissed. “Are these stupid things always so sensitive?” she lamented, leaning back and caressing her bosoms.

“Most mares say they get more sensitive when they’re in heat - that or when they’re pregnant,” Silver matter-of-factly replied as she anointed herself with some eyeliner.

She grimaced down at her treacherous hoof and willed herself not to rub her teats more. “And you’re still not going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope!” the pegasus laughed, finishing with her makeup. “A couple of our coworkers and their friends are going to be meeting us in - shoot.”

Following the mare’s gaze up and over to a clock, she pursed her lips. “Don’t tell me we’re late…”

Silver shook her head while she briskly trotted to the door. “Nah, we got time. Ok, you have everything?”

“Everything?” Snowy parroted.

“ID, keys, a few bits - you know, all the stuff you’re supposed to keep in your purse,” the maid noted.

Looking over to the sofa and a handbag that rested upon it, she scowled. “Do I have to bring a purse? I look marish enough without trotting around with a stupid purse…”

“Don’t be a big baby,” Silver chuckled. “You said that it was more convenient than one of those wallet things.”

She lifted a hoof to argue, prepared to defend what little male pride she had left, but remained silent. Like so many other things since her metamorphosis, she’d had a change of heart about marish accessories. Even if she’d had the use of hands, having access to a bag to store and carry her belongings in on a day to day basis would have been nicer than a wallet, though she regretted mentioning that to her friend. Petulantly spinning around, she stomped over to the couch, grabbed the purse, and slung it over her neck.

“Anything else?” she pressed, trotting over to the pegasus’ side.

Pulling the door open, she waved to the corridor just outside. “I think we’re good. On the off chance that you did forget something, the mares and I will cover for you - after all, it’s not like we don’t know where you work or anything!”

“Ha ha ha -” she grumbled, strolling into the hallway, “very funny.”

One of the best things about living and working in the Canterlot castle was that the palace had all the amenities of home. Aside from the gym, cafeteria, and a top-tier lounge for employees, the maid’s had a small facility all for themselves. It only made sense that the servants had space to change, mend their equipment, and coordinate their efforts, but she was still shocked that their area had a small salon for them to use.

As Silver trotted out and past her, taking the lead, she followed her companion. “Any hints?”

“Nope!” Silver chirped. “Just trust me, you’re gonna love it.”

“And do you and the mares do this sort of thing regularly?” she inquired.

Glancing over her shoulder, the pegasus grinned. “Not too often - maybe a few times a year, but tonight is special. They may not have said anything to you about it, but a few of the maids have been wanting to get to know you better.”

“Really?” Snowy coughed. “Why didn’t they ever just talk to me?”

“No offense, but you can be a little intimidating,” Silver explained. “Before you ask, because I know you’re about to ask, it’s due to a few things. You talk with Celestia like you’ve known her for years, it’s not like any of them have ever been around kirin before, and then there’s…”

Snowy groaned and rolled her eyes, having some idea what the mare had been about to say. “The stories - right, yeah, I got it.”

“In everypony’s defense, a cantering, flaming mare who throws herself in a fountain while wearing lingerie isn’t something that happens every day,” Silver guffawed.

Reminded of the unsavory, mortifying incident, she cast her eyes to the floor and trotted onward. Nopony had said anything to her directly, but she had noticed a distinct shift with some of her coworkers after her heated accident - heck, even Aegis had blushed and tripped over his words more than usual when chatting with her afterwards. Dwelling on the guard’s handsome face and adonic body, she smirked.

She hadn’t talked with him all that much recently, but that made bumping into him while they were tending to their duties all the more magical. More often than not, they’d exchange pleasantries, awkwardly comment about goings-on in the castle, and part ways. While she couldn’t speak for him, merely being in his presence was enough to be a crippling distraction.

“Snowy!” Silver shouted.

Starting and looking around herself, she came to a stop and spotted the pegasus rushing up next to her. “Sorry, I was -”

“Thinking about a certain somepony,” the maid teased, playfully elbowing her side. “It’s ok, we’ve all been there - actually, it’s more than ok. You’re like me when I had my first crush!”

“Really?” she pouted, following the pegasus in the proper direction.

Folding a wing over her back, Silver nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. Seriously though, you should talk to him! He’s single, good looking, and I’ve heard he’s in line for a promotion!”

Once again, for the umpteenth time over the last few months, Snowy found herself wracked with indecision. There was something about Aegis that resonated with her - in fact, there were several somethings about him which kept him in her thoughts. Other than his stunningly good looks and impeccable skills in bed, he was genuinely a good stallion and had a kind heart. She wanted to say that he felt the same way about her, but she had no way to know - regardless, it would only be a matter of time until things came to a head.

If and when she was returned to her original, human form, Snowy would cease to exist. It would be easy enough to convince everypony in the castle what had happened to the quirky little kirin, explaining that she’d returned to her homeland and her family, but that didn’t sit well with her. Even if Aegis didn’t have romantic feelings for her, she’d be hard pressed to look at him the way she used to - back when she’d been a guy.

Gradually making their way downstairs, through the cavernous foyer, and out into the cool air of the bailey, she turned her head upward. There were a great many things in Equestria that were captivating, but the night sky was one of the most magical. Like an endless sea of diamonds scattered over black silk, the stars shone brightly and without the slightest hint of light pollution.

“Here she is, mares!” Silver exclaimed, tearing her back to the present and bringing her to a sudden halt. “Snowy, I’d like you to meet Radiance, Beryl, and Alata,” she continued, motioning to an earth pony, unicorn, and changeling in order.

Snowy had seen the trio before, but she couldn’t say she’d ever had a meaningful or prolonged conversation with any of them. Each of the three was done up in a similar fashion to herself and Silver, wearing dresses or skirts, and they all looked more than eager for a night out on the town. As she looked them up and down, impressed with their outfits, a timid smile crept across her muzzle.

“H…hey,” she croaked, lifting and waving a forehoof.

“Real quick ~” Beryl began, stepping forward, “is that a Hoity design or a Rarity design?”

“I - uh…” Snowy uneasily muttered as she looked down at herself. “Rarity made it.”

“Hah!” Radiance laughed. “I knew it was one of Rarity’s! You owe me five bits, Beryl!”

Digging into her purse, the unicorn levitated out a hoofful of coins. “You just got lucky!”

While the two bantered, joking and teasing one another about bets won or lost in the past, the changeling inched closer to her. “Don’t mind them - they bicker like an old married couple.”

“We do not!” the duo bleated in unison.

A brief silence fell over the quintet, before Silver burst into laughter. The mirth was infectious, spreading from one creature to the next, until they were all giggling and making light of the situation. Despite her initial misgivings, Snowy chuckled and shook her head. If the rest of the night was anything like this, she might just be in for a good time.

Seeing herself into the middle of the group, Silver used her wings and one foreleg to separate everypony. “Alright, alright - can’t we wait until after we’re having a good time to make a ruckus?”

The question, while simple and relatively innocuous, evoked a series of cheers from all the mares - all the mares save one. Peaking a brow and looking at her newfound associates, Snowy gave Silver a curious look. The pegasus locked eyes with her and gave a knowing smirk, compounding her confusion and making her hair stand on end. Something was about to happen, though she couldn’t fathom what in the world it was.

“So is everypony ready?” Silver asked.

Replying in almost perfect tandem, the trio of maids whooped and cheered. “To Haymakers!”

Holding back while the mismatched threesome began trotting away, Snowy cocked her head. “Do I even want to know?”

Hugging herself to her side, the pegasus snickered. “You’ll find out soon enough…”

Snowy strolled along beside Silver, caught up with their companions, and quickly had her suspicions confirmed. Canterlot was a big city, one of the largest on the continent, so it only made sense that there were places she hadn’t discovered while out and about. Slowing and peering up at a brightly lit sign on an innocuous, brick building, she smirked.

“So it’s just a bar,” she noted.

“Yup, it’s just a bar,” Silver hummed as she led the way to the entrance. Stopping at the door, she flashed her ID to the doorstallion. “I’ll grab us drinks if you want to get us a table,” she added, looking back at her before disappearing inside.

Digging into her purse and getting her ID, she strolled over to the imposing bouncer. “Here ya go.”

The titan didn’t say a word as he eyed her card, stepped aside, and waved her in. While she’d assumed that a mares’ night involved drinking and chatting, having her hunch confirmed was a relief. Human women sometimes went out and socialized together, occasionally having alcohol involved, so it stood to reason that Equestrians periodically did the same. With a smile on her face and more optimistic than ever, she trotted through the door and froze.

Haymakers was indeed a club of sorts, having a bar sat to one side of the spacious interior, booths lining three of the four walls, a number of tables scattered about on the floor, and even a small area for dancing, yet there was one thing that instantaneously set her nerves on edge. Splitting the spacious chamber almost directly in half was a raised catwalk that ended with a large, circular platform. The good news was that nopony was using the runway or dais - the bad news was that she’d bet a solid chunk of bits that it wasn’t going to stay empty for long.

“Snowy,” somepony yelled, catching her ear, “we’re over here!”

She numbly turned and spotted Radiance and Beryl waving to her from a table right next to the stage. Her best guess was that Alata, like Silver, was off getting drinks, but it was impossible for her to know for certain. Even with the relatively early hour, there was a steady trickle of mares coming in and claiming seats or booths for themselves.

Weaving past several tables and over to her associates, she sat down and did her best not to look anxious. “So I’m guessing you two come here a lot?”

“Only for the shows,” Beryl merrily responded. “If I just wanted to have a drink or two, I’d do it at home with friends.”

Feeling a nervous bead of sweat form on her brow, she gulped. The mention of shows and nights like tonight did nothing to calm her fraying nerves. “Maybe we should have pre-gamed…”

“Right?!?” Radiance practically shouted. “I keep telling ponies that they should knock a few back before they go out for a night like this.”

Snowy nodded and idly tapped her hooves on the table. She really wasn’t that much of a drinker, but she’d be darned if she couldn’t go for a shot or two of liquid courage. Looking back and toward the bar, she noticed Silver and Alata headed over in their direction. Regardless of what ended up happening, she made a mental note to pay the pegasus back for what was likely an overpriced, watered down cocktail.

Having carefully placed a serving tray down on the table, Silver proudly held a wing to her chest. “I didn’t know what everypony wanted, so I thought I’d cover all the bases. A pitcher of cider and a bottle of Ball Lightning to share - plus I got a shot of Gilded Grace for everypony to kick things off.”

“Jeez -” Snowy gasped, taken aback with the extraordinarily generous amount of hooch. “Silver, you didn’t have to do all this!”

“Pfffft - don’t mention it,” the pegasus dismissively clucked. “The bartender and I go way, way back, but don’t tell anypony that.”

Peering down at the five shot glasses filled with opalescent, slightly fluorescing fluid, she peaked a brow. Equestrian food and drink wasn’t that dissimilar to Earth’s, though there were still occasions when she’d be surprised with something new and exotic - for instance, when she’d had her sex and species changed by some infernal concoction. As she reached out, grabbed the bottle and brought it over to herself, Alata laughed.

“They don’t have that in the kirin homelands ~ do they?” the drone asked.

“Can’t say they do,” she replied while reading over the label. “So this is some sort of cinnamon spirit?”

“It’s the cinnamon spirit,” Radiance cheerfully corrected. “Seriously though, you need to be careful with that stuff; it has a way of sneaking up on you.”

Putting the bottle back down, she turned her attention back to the shots. “And these?”

“They’re a toast, you goof!” Silver mirthfully answered. Snatching up one of the shots, she waited until her companions had followed suit and lifted their glasses into the air. “Here’s to good friends, the Princesses, and -”

“And seeing some top-tier studs!” Beryl interrupted.

Not to be outdone, Radiance gently shoved her friend. “You can look at them all you want - as for me, I’m hoping to get lucky!”

The quartet broke into another spontaneous fit of laughter, teasing one another while shamelessly joking about how nice it would be to get laid. For a second time in short order, Snowy joined them in their merriment. Maybe this had been what she needed to unwind - maybe things really were going to work out smoothly that night.

Collecting herself, she held her glass high. “More than anything, here’s to new friends.”

“I’ll cheer to that,” Alata whooped.

Refiling her shot glass with a measure of Ball Lightning, having downed what was supposed to be a toast at some point, Radiance beamed. “Same here!”

Snowy leaned over the table, tapped glasses with the maids, and threw her drink down in a single gulp. The liquor, whatever the heck it was, was staggeringly smooth, floral, and only the slightest bit sweet, making her wish she’d savored it. Sitting and enjoying her company, content to listen to the endless chatter between Beryl and Radiance, she started when the lights began to dim.

“If you beautiful mares are ready to have a great night, make some noise!!” some unseen announcer boomed, evoking cheers from the throng. “I said, if you mares are ready to have a great night, make some noise!” he repeated, whipping the crowd up. “Now I hope you mares are all sitting down, because our lineup tonight is sure to knock you off your hooves! First up, from the mysterious jungles of Zebrica, it’s Olori!”

A drumbeat cut through the air, fog poured out from around the runway, and a curtain on the far wall flung open to reveal a silhouette. As a tall, muscular, steely-eyed zebra stallion strutted out and into view, the place practically exploded. Mares waved and pawed at the beefy titan as he passed, doing everything they could to catch his eye, but there was one amongst them who sat still and utterly silent.

Snowy knew it - she just bucking knew it! What she’d hoped would be a simple outing with her coworkers to relax was anything but. Surrounded by bawdy, raucous mares from all about Canterlot, she found herself trapped in the midst of a depraved, self-indulgent exhibition. Hastily pouring a shot of Ball Lightning and knocking it back, she kept her eyes on the table to avoid looking at the big, hunky stud mere feet away from her.

“C’mere, big colt!” Radiance howled. “Mama’s got some bits for you.”

As her curiosity got the better of her, Snowy peeked up and watched the earth pony waving a pair of gold bits up at the zebra. She’d known that there were such exotic shows in the world, but finding herself at one while as a mare in heat hadn’t been on her to-do list. The stallion took the proffered coins, dipped his muzzle to Radiance’s ear, and whispered something. What he’d said was anypony’s guess, but the mare visibly swooned and started fanning herself while he withdrew.

Sliding closer to her, Silver waggled her eyebrows. “So…?”

“So?” Snowy repeated, uncertain of what to make of the vague question.

“Isn’t he the hottest slab of zebra you’ve ever seen?!?” Radiance whooped, almost seeming offended by her disinterest. “Just look at the size of him!”

Peering up at the stud, Snowy watched him dance and gyrate around the small stage. He was pretty graceful for his size, she’d give him that, and kind of handsome, and his hindquarters looked like they’d been chiseled from granite, and his sheath looked pretty hefty. Lost to her thoughts, she flinched and looked away when he turned his emerald eyes upon her.

“Can you imagine how good he’d be in the sack?” Radiance continued, unabashedly waxing poetic about the stud only a few feet away. “Hey, hot cakes, if you want to get a real earth pony experience, hit me up after your performance!”

Snowy had seen all sorts of wild stuff over the years, but the sheer brazenness of the mare was both inspiring and a bit disconcerting - yeah, strippers were probably used to being propositioned by passionate patrons, but she almost felt bad for the stud. Musing on what she should say or do, if there was anything to be said at all, she glanced to her opposite side as Alata motioned her over.

“She’s always like this,” the drone hissed. “Us mares like to say she’s got striped fever.”

“Really?” she quipped.

Alata flashed her fangs and winked. “I’ll give you the details later, but don’t let her bother you. If there’s one of us who ends up making trouble or getting out of hoof, it’s always her.”

“Thanks,” she sighed. Turning toward Silver, she tapped the pegasus’ forehoof. “Where’s the little mare’s room?”

“Over in that corner,” Silver responded and pointed off to one side. “It’s through there and down the hall.”

Unseating herself, Snowy wandered away from the table. She didn’t really need to use the restroom, but giving herself a few minutes to collect herself felt necessary. After only a minute or two of watching a stallion strutting his stuff on stage, she could already feel the beast that was her primal urges rattling its cage.

The irony wasn’t lost on her - there she was at a strip club, surrounded by mares who’d knowingly and intentionally come to see some skin, though she felt off - not physically, but mentally. A part of her wanted to enjoy herself, go give in and cheer and catcall and wolf whistle at the striped, hunky stud, yet that same part served as a constant reminder of what she now was.

Being a mare was a very mixed bag. Though she would never admit it, and was still struggling with the concept herself, she was beginning to like being Snowy. The world around her had been built for ponies, she liked the way she looked, and she loved just how sensitive her body was - having said that, she felt like she was betraying herself. She was supposed to be trying to get her old body back ~ wasn’t she? She should be ashamed of being able to have multiple orgasms while thinking about a stallion breeding her ~ right?

Clenching her jaw, she drifted through the doorway her companion had pointed out and down a hallway. If there was some magical button she could press to accept being her kirin self, she would have smashed it in a second, but it wasn’t that simple. Silver was one of only a few creatures on the planet who knew what had happened to her, cognizant of what she’d lost, and the fear of moving on from being Anon was all she had keeping her from becoming Snowy permanently.

“Excuse me,” a voice softy stated.

“You’re…” she trailed off when she lifted her gaze and spotted a tall pony calmly trotting over in her direction.

Stopping just out of reach, the tall, lanky stallion studied her for a moment. “Pardon me for being rude, but are you a kirin?”

“I - um…” As simple as the question had been, she couldn’t formulate, much less speak a reply.

Whoever he was - whatever he was, he was bucking beautiful. Taller than Luna and with a slender, athletic build, the stud towered over and tentatively smiled. As if his incredible height hadn’t been striking enough in and of itself, his dulcet tone, gleaming eyes, and wild, shoulder-length mane made him awe-inspiringly gorgeous. Sensing herself starting to drool from both ends, she gulped.

“Y…yeah,” she stammered. “W…what are - sorry, who are you?”

“Saladin,” he responded, giving her a bow. “I hail from Saddle Arabia. This must be a first for both of us.”

Heavens forgive her - she’d actually been considering leaving, politely bowing out and foregoing the ruinous temptation of ogling stallions flaunting their bodies on stage, but this creature, this Saladin, was downright bewitching. Feeling hot under her collar, she fanned the top of her dress in an attempt to cool herself off. He’d said a whopping hoofful of words to her in the mere seconds she’d been in his presence, but she was gripped with a compulsion to know him.

Glancing past her, he grimaced. “My apologies, it seems as though I need to go. It was a pleasure meeting you, miss…?”

“Snowy!” she croaked as she extended a hoof. “I’m Snowy.”

“Well then, miss Snowy,” he purred, taking and tenderly kissing her hoof, “it was a pleasure. I’ll see you soon…”

Dumbfounded, she stood motionless as he turned and trotted down the hallway and away from her. She knew she’d left her friends for something, but she hadn’t the slightest clue what she’d gone for. With the din in the club dying down, only vaguely aware that the zebra’s show must have come to an end, she reeled back. No - there was no bucking way he was…

“Alright, everypony, we have a special guest for you!” the announcer blared.

Her mind went haywire, her temperature spiked, and her heart fluttered madly. Excluding the bouncer, a single bartender, and the announcer, there was only one reasonable explanation for why the saddle arabian was there - sure, he may have been a janitor or worked in the back, but he was too gosh darn pretty to do anything that menial. Whipping around, charging back to her table, and nearly colliding with several patrons in the process, she flung herself into her seat and glued her eyes to the end of the catwalk.

Sensual, middle eastern-esque music cut through the air as the lighting about the place took on a sandy hue. Ignoring her friends and the hush that fell over the club, Snowy sat at the edge of her seat. With the crowd going silent, the curtains at the runway’s end steadily parted.

“Give it up for the one and only Saladin!” the host loudly declared.

Right on cue and with all the poise and grace of a demigod, Saladin strutted out in tune with the melody. His body flowed like water, his every move measured and with unbelievable elegance, and his confidence was a thing of awe. She had no way of knowing how long he’d been an entertainer, but she could immediately tell that he was either a savant, had a great deal of experience, or both.

As he moved closer, nonchalantly peering out to the throng, his eyes settled on her. No sooner did she meet his gaze than her marehood seized upon itself within her panties. With but a look, just a fleeting glance, he tore her reservations asunder. The things she’d do with him - to him, had they been somewhere more private, would have made even the most seasoned whore blush - alas, all she could do was lavish him with praise.

“Yeah!” she bellowed, yielding to her impulses. Bolting from her chair, she stood against the table and flung bits onto the stage. “Shake that money maker!”

She hadn’t been sure of many things in her life, especially as of late, but she was absolutely, positively certain that she wanted him. He was everything any mare could have wanted in a stallion. His height, his cavalier demeanor, just how darn hot he was - each and every little thing about him was simply to die for.

Trotting over to her, he extended a hoof and caressed her cheek. His touch was as devastating as it was divine, making her tingle from hoof to horn and dampening her panties in an instant. As she stroked his foreleg and reached for his, he did the most heartrendingly tempting thing imaginable - he winked and turned away.

Barely able to keep her legs from buckling, she mutely watched him weave about and show himself off. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t hard, his stallionhood hidden within the thick, fleshy folds of his sheath, nor did it matter that he’d only slip the occasional glance at her - for her, the only important thing was that he’d acknowledged her in the first place. She remained where she stood throughout the duration of his show, her eyes never straying from his heavenly physique, until he’d disappeared behind the drapes from whence he’d come.

“And I thought Radiance was bad,” Alata laughed.

Suddenly realizing she wasn’t alone, she looked over to the changeling. “N…no!”

“Admit it, Snows, you’re down bad for that playcolt,” Beryl added, batting a hoof at her.

“It’s n…not like - wait,” she grunted, looking around in confusion. “Where’s Silver?”

“Right here,” the pegasus answered from behind her. “I got something special for you?”

Snowy gradually turned to her friend, saw what could only be a mischievous smirk on the mare’s face, and squinted. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see,” Silver tittered as she led her away from the table.

Peeking back at the trio of maids, she felt her blood run cold. Each of the mare’s seemed far too amused, whispering and waving at her to go, which only added to her apprehension. She could have left, having time to flee or make a break for the door, but that would only harm the budding friendship she had with her friends and make an even more dubious name for herself - as such, she trotted alongside the pegasus and to a doorway resting by the bar.

Silver stopped just inside what was a short hallway lined with doors. “Second on the left.”

Peering at the closed door, Snowy knit her brow. “What’s in there?”

“You’ll see,” Silver laughed. Wheeling around and trotting away, she waved with a wing. “Don’t have too much fun.”

Snowy should have trusted her gut, but she had to know what her companion had meant. Silver wasn’t a bad pony by any means, and she’d never done a thing to cross her, so the chances were impossibly slim that anything bad was going to happen. Cautiously slinking down the hallway and to the second door on the left, she slowly uneasily exhaled and reached for the knob.

As soon as she pushed the door open, her heart nearly pounded out of her chest. Standing inside, looking just as casual and jaw-droppingly lovely as ever, was none other than Saladin. Silver and her companions must have orchestrated a private meeting with him while she’d been too busy salivating to pay them any mind, but that was a problem she could address later - for now, she had a much bigger issue at hoof to contend with.

“Sit,” he coolly instructed, pointing to a chair.

She moved without thinking, crossing to and seating herself on the large, padded recliner. The moment her tush hit the cushion, he struck. There was no warning, not the slightest hint that he’d do anything other than just talk with her, and he didn’t say a single word - instead, he reared back to his hind legs, placed his forehooves to either side of her head, and rubbed his cheek against her neck.

Stepping over her hind legs, he straddled her and ground his chest against her. “I was hoping I’d get to see you again, sweetheart.”

She tried to say something - anything intelligible to him, yet all she could do was moan and embrace him. The heat of his body against her was a sinful taste of Tartarus itself, his masculine scent made her eyelids flutter, and the thought of him taking her right then and there eclipsed all her worldly needs. Kicking her hind legs out, she locked her fetlocks around his hips and pulled him in.

“You know, there’s a no touching rule for private dances,” he mused, breathing hotly on her ear, “but I could make an exception for such a pretty mare.”

Going to reply, to thank him for the concession, she felt it - something hot and hard rubbing against her nethers. In her haste to snare him in a leglock, her dress had ridden up around her hips and left her lingerie-clad loins exposed and vulnerable. Tilting her head to the side and peering down, seeing his stallionhood pressed to her sopping-wet panties, she bit her lip.

“Have you ever bedded a saddle arabian?” he asked, nibbling her ear.

Shivering uncontrollably, she fought the urge to push him away and tear her undergarment off. “N…no…”

“Would you like me to fix that?” he cooed, lowering his head and kissing her neck.

Her imagination ran rampant and completely unchecked from his question. She was away from prying eyes, nopony would ever know what had happened in the secluded little room, and any noise they made would be drowned out by the crowd and music just outside. This was her chance, she could finally get the satisfaction she so desperately craved, but she hesitated - not because she didn’t want him, but because of an epiphany that cut through her mental haze.

All this time, ever since she’d become Snowy, she’d held herself back. She’d been too scared to enjoy herself, to even consider that her curse was actually a blessing in disguise that she couldn’t accept herself. She liked being a mare, she wanted to have fun and fit in, and she loved her new look ~ so why wasn’t she willing to cut loose?

“Well?” he added, leaning back and running a forehoof down her chest and to her breasts.

Grappling with the existential revelation, she was unable to stop him as he freed himself from her clutches, backed away, and lowered his head. With no hesitation whatsoever, he brought his snout between her thighs, gently bit down on her panties, and pulled them to the side. She hadn’t the slightest bit of doubt about that he was moments from eating her out - that or he just wanted to get a close look at just how turned on she was. She held her breath and teetered on the brink, fully prepared to surrender herself for a quickie with the stud she’d just met.

As his tongue glided between her lower lips and graced her clit, a whimper of delight escaped her. The touch of another was nothing unlike using her hoof on herself - it couldn’t even compare! Snapping her thighs shut against his head, ensuring he couldn’t escape, she watched as he feasted upon her.

On the few occasions she’d gotten blowjobs, back when she’d had a dick, she’d enjoyed watching somepony pleasure her - save for her lack of endowment, nothing had changed about that. Though she was slightly self-conscious from staring down at him, she couldn’t look away. Just like when he’d been on the stage, he took his time and seemed to revel in the attention she freely gave him.

HIs tongue lashing left nothing to be desired, yet that was but one skill in his sensual arsenal. Wrapping his lips around her bulging clit, he nursed upon the sensitive bud of flesh and sent bolts of pleasure surging through her. The bliss he delivered was unimaginable, far beyond anything a penis was capable of, and it made her all the more appreciative for having a marehood.

Alternating techniques and languidly increasing his pace, he pushed her to her limit before snatching a climax from her clutches. As soon as she got close, with her legs trembling and the breath hitching in her throat, his motions slowed. She was putty in his hooves, a plaything to be savored and toyed with, and he absolutely knew it.

Wisps of smoke and an ominous crackling filled the air, making both herself and the stallion yelp in surprise. The chair upon which she sat grew singed, moldering and burning by her superheated state. Instantly realizing that she was about to go full nirik, having lost control of her emotions and sense of self, she jumped up and did everything in her power to regain her composure.

“I…is that normal?” he sputtered.

Nodding vigorously, she apprehensively looked over at him. “Y…yup, it sure is!”

She was lucky that she’d caught herself, lest she end up injuring the poor stallion, but she was doubly thankful that the near-combustion had given her some clarity. Had somepony asked her, it would have been impossible for her to describe how she was feeling. Over the course of a hoofful of minutes, she’d nearly gotten laid and started to be comfortable with who and what she was. Though her thoughts were a jumbled mess of ideas and contradictions, she knew what she had to do.

“Sorry about that,” she sighed as she moved to the exit. “Tell my friends thanks ~ alright?”

“S…sure,” he mumbled.

Leaving him in the dust, she raced down the hallway, through the club, and out into the night. There was a lot she had to do, including reflecting on everything that had just happened, although there was one thing - one pony she needed to speak with. As she charged off to the castle, forsaking her companions and the poor, smooth-talking stripper she’d nearly fried like bacon, she hoped - prayed she wasn’t about to make a mistake…

Chapter 6

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Through the gates and past the guards, Snowy galloped into the castle’s courtyard. Nopony tried to stop her, though she nearly ran into one of the centurions along the way. An all but literal war waged in her mind, making it all but impossible to think, as she ran as hard and as fast as her legs would carry her.

It was only after she’d rushed up several flights of stairs and to the wing housing the staff’s quarters that she came to a screeching halt. A door looking identical to the others lining the corridor rested before her, yet this one was different. While she’d passed the room many, many times before, and would likely do so many times in the future, this particular visit could very well change everything.

She growled and shook her head as she began to pace. The rational side of her told her she should leave, that she wasn’t really beholden to her bestial urges, although her primal id, bolstered by the savage heat which held her in its clutches, said otherwise. It wasn’t that she wanted to get plowed - no, her infernal body demanded some sensual satisfaction.

Lifting her hoof to the door several times, going to knock but pulling away, she grimaced. Should she succumb to her urges, what would Aegis think of her - moreover, what would she think of herself? She wasn’t supposed to be some loose floozy, she didn’t want to be some desperate mare who came randomly knocking at a stallions door for some relief, yet the compulsion to scratch the itch, to feel a stallion’s weight on her back while her marehood was stuffed, was overwhelming.

“Guh!” she groaned, throwing her head back and giving voice to her frustration.

This was hell, pure and simple, and she couldn’t comprehend how mares dealt with it - yeah, sex-toys or paying for a passionate exchange with a gigolo could give some relief, but could she live with herself for stooping so low? Stomping the ground and continuing to trot back and forth, lost to her thoughts, she fell still when the sound of a turning lock cut through the air. As her eyes shot to the door, hoping - praying her ears had deceived her, her fears were made manifest.

“S…Snowy?” Aegis wearily asked, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn.

His mane was unkempt, there saliva smeared on his right cheek, and it was as plain as day that he’d just woken up, but he was the most gorgeous thing she’d ever laid eyes upon. Even in his disheveled state, he was a paragon of masculinity, the definition of what a perfect stallion should be, and she nearly swooned at the sight of him. She took a step toward him without thinking, her body moving of its own volition, before she willed herself to stop.

Looking her up and down, he frowned. “Is…is everything ok?”

“Yeah,” she dreamily replied, heedless to the bead of nectar creeping down her inner thigh. Shaking her head and sensing her tail flag, she growled and beat back her instincts. “No…”

He cocked his head, doubtlessly confused by her conflicting answer, and stepped to the side. “Do you - um - want to come in?”

Hesitating for only a moment, she took another small step closer to him. Regardless of what happened now, she couldn’t leave - not without giving him some explanation of what was going on. He was her friend, he’d always treated her well, and he deserved to know why she’d disturbed his slumber. She steeled herself, gave him the smallest of nods, and trotted past him into his room.

Regret - she couldn’t begin to describe the regret she felt upon entering his chamber. His scent was so thick that it clawed at her sanity, merely seeing his bed was enough to flood her mind with a whole host of slatternly, wholly unbecoming musings, and being in his company was as comforting as it was torturous - still, those things paled in comparison to the sound of him closing the door behind her. They were alone, nopony would ever know what they did in the privacy of his room, and that simple fact utterly broke her.

She spun and pounced on him in a flash, driving his back against the wall while locking lips with him. His hot breath washing over her face drowned out his startled gasp and his stunned reaction, allowing her to drive her tongue straight into his maw. He was hers, whether he knew it or not, and she was going to give him a night he wouldn’t soon forget.

Pushing him off balance, she fell atop him. He was right where she wanted him, pinned beneath her against the floor, and that’s where she was going to keep him. Under the best of circumstances, he would have seized the initiative - that said, she wasn’t opposed to giving him a bit of inspiration. He was groggy, he’d only just gotten up, but she was going to fix that.

Any straight male worth their salt could only endure the passionate embrace of an eager, fertile female for so long - heck, back when she’d been a guy, she would have killed to have somepony, be they a pony or not, jump her bones to have their way with her. Gyrating her hips against him, slathering his underbelly with her amorous juices, she moaned into his muzzle.

The sensation of something hot swelling against her nethers was like an angel’s kiss, telling her that her lack of restraint had worked, but she was given no time to savor it. Aegis came to his senses quickly, far faster than she would have hoped, and pushed her away. Though she tried to resist him, to keep their tongues entwined, it was an impossible task.

Shaken though he was, his size and strength allowed him to fend off her spontaneous kiss with perilously little effort. Through a combination of magical might and brute force, he firmly but softly shoved her off and rolled to his belly. His forehoof shot to her shoulder as he stood, ensuring she wouldn’t be able to launch another surprise assault.

“Ok,” he grunted, keeping her at leg’s reach, “what in the hay is going on?”

His question cut through the mental fog and gave her some clarity of mind. This wasn’t as bad as she thought it could be - it was so much worse. In addition to waking him up, she’d downright assaulted him with a french kiss like some rut-lust crazed lunatic! Something had to be done to make up for the egregious transgression, and she was the only one who could do it.

She shied away and averted her gaze, unable to bring herself to look him in the eye. “Sorry…”

“I…I mean…” he trailed off, prompting her to peek up at him. “I’m not mad, but I’d be lying if I said I was expecting you to show up at this hour just to give me a smooch.”

“I know,” she grieved, hanging her head in shame. “It’s just that…”

As she lifted her gaze and spied his stallionhood emerging from its sheath, her mind went black. The world around her seemed to disappear, his words were muted and unintelligible, and her sole focus was the thick, gradually hardening length appearing beneath him. To say she wanted to fall to the floor and worship his goods, to wrap her lips around him and sing the praises of his virility, would be an understatement, yet she somehow found the strength to reel herself in.

“Huh?” she grunted, ripping her eyes off his cock.

“I - uh - I was,” she paused. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what she’d been about to tell him. “Do you have any idea how hard this is?!”

“W…what is?” he asked, taken aback.

Waving a hoof at him, she grimaced. “This! You!”

He quirked a brow and studied her mutely, likely thinking she’d lost her mind, before clearing his throat. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Yes!” she blared. “You and your stupid handsome face! Why do you have to be so strong, and good looking, and so darn nice to me all the time?!?”

Her impotent rage was all-consuming and nearly made her froth at the mouth. The unimaginable ache in her loins made it all but impossible to form a coherent thought, let alone speak clearly - moreover, confessing her intentions for him only made the matter at hoof all the more difficult. If he wanted to know what was wrong with her - by Celestia, she was going to tell him.

Storming over to him, she prodded his chest with her forehoof. “I like stallions ~ alright?!? Are you happy now?!” she barked. The relief she felt upon getting the admission off her chest was fleeting, lasting no longer than a heartbeat, as she watched him pull away and scrunch his nose. “What?!”

“I…I mean…” he warily began, rubbing the back of his neck while turning his head to the side. “I kinda knew that after we -”

“After you plowed my brains out?!” she interrupted, giving his pec another poke. “This is your fault! Do you think I wanted to be like this? Do you think I like having you dancing through my head all the gosh darn time?!?”

His jaw flapped and his cheeks darkened, though he was somehow able to find his voice. “Thanks?”

“Thanks? Thanks?!” she fumed. “I don’t want your thanks! I want you to throw me on your bed and breed me! Fill me with that thick, rich foal-batter of yours and make me your -”

“Snowy,” he whispered, softly clutching her foreleg. “Snowy, please…”

She fell silent and locked eyes with him, panting and slick with sweat. Be it because of a higher power taking mercy on her, her sanity rallying, or some combination of the two, she backpedaled and slammed against his bed. He was anathema to her, driving her into a frenzy purely by being near her, but he was a good pony - almost too good of a pony. Unless she was willing to risk her reputation and one of the only friends she had, she was going to need to make a gamble.

Inching closer to her, he extended his hoof. “Are you -”

“Wait,” she blurted. “Just…just give me a second ~ okay?”

She was at a crossroads. Blowing him off and excusing herself would tarnish her image in his eyes and only exacerbate whatever unfortunate reputation she’d unintentionally cultivated on herself, but she couldn’t simply stay in his room without telling him what was going on. There was only one thing she could do to redeem herself, to salvage the situation and even make the smallest attempt at keeping him as a friend, though she hated that it had come to this.

“Heh ~” she laughed, finding the courage to look at him. “You probably think I’m insane ~ right?”

Chuckling softly, he shrugged. “To be perfectly honest, the thought had crossed my mind…”

His candor wasn’t lost on her. She’d essentially barged her way into his room and thrust herself upon him without any warning whatsoever. It would have been one matter if he was a stallion she’d only just met, going at him after the sparks had started to fly, but it wasn’t. She’d jeopardized their friendship because of her lust, and now she was about to lay way more than just her pride on the line.

“If you thought I was crazy before, you’re definitely going to think I’m nuts after this,” she said with a shaky breath. “You - um - might want to be sitting down for this.”

He remained where he stood, thinking heaven knows what, then cautiously eased his hindquarters down. “Okay…You’re not gonna go full psycho and -”

“Please cover your junk,” she moaned, clamping her eyes shut to stave off the temptation to gawk at his package.

Much to her immeasurable relief, she listened to him call upon his magic before he replied. “Better?”

Cracking one eye open, she peeked out and saw he’d covered himself with a pillow from the bed. “Better…”

“So you were about to tell me why you shouldn’t be locked in a padded room?” he quipped, shifting uncomfortably with an anxious smile on his snout.

She flopped to the floor and faced him while hoping she wasn’t going to wind up in a loony bin somewhere. “Yeah, about that…” she mumbled. There was no easy way for her to say what she was going to say, so she did the only thing she could think to do. Staring into his eyes, she hardened her expression. “I’m Anon…”

Aegis blinked. “Ha ha - very funny, Snowy.”

“It’s not funny,” she harrumphed. “I’m seriously Anon.”

“Yeah right,” he guffawed. “If you’re Anon, I’m Princess Celestia’s long-lost brother!”

Her annoyance mounted and grew tinged with anger. She’d just spilled the beans on the biggest secret she’d ever kept, confessing something that gave her no small amount of shame, and he was laughing at her - laughing! Bolting to her hooves, she closed the gap between them, hooked a forehoof under his chin, and lifted his head up at her.

“I’m Anon,” she growled, “and I can prove it…”

Collecting himself, if only just, he softly guided her foreleg away from his face. “And how could you do -”

“You slept with your friend’s sister when you were in high school,” she murmured, narrowing her eyes at him.

She wasn’t the only pony who kept things under her nonexistent hat. Though it had been some time ago and back when she’d been a human, Aegis had let it slip that he’d plowed one of his buddy’s siblings. It was hard for her to remember specifics of the tale, having had a few drinks herself at the time, but the scandalous nature of the story had stuck with her ever since.

His eyes widened and all traces of mirth fled from him as he fell silent. “How…how’d you…”

“Plus,” she continued, giving him no quarter, “you had the hots for one of the griffin interns that was here a few months back - before you ask, I don’t remember her name, but she was purple, had a golden tint to her plumage, and had an absolutely killer set of thighs on her.”

Slowly nodding, he held her gaze. “Yeah…yeah, she was a real -”

“Family bucket,” Snowy concluded, using the very same nickname she’d used for the bottom-heavy hen she’d coined at the time. “Now do you -”

“H…holy heck,” Aegis stammered, bolting upright and scrambling back. “How did…what…when were you…”

Snowy closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and didn’t budge. This was exactly the reaction she’d expected - well, no, it was one of the possible reactions she’d expected. Excluding Silver, who was an atypical pony in a number of ways, anypony with even the slightest shred of common sense would be nonplussed to discover that a human guy had been transformed into a kirin mare. Sitting down slowly, taking care not to make any sudden moves, she lifted her forehooves and steadily exhaled.

“I did try to warn you that it’s a doozy,” she sighed. “Listen, I know you have a bunch of questions, so just take a breath, relax, and -”

“So you seriously like me?” he asked, cutting her off. “Wait…Does that mean you turned into a mare because you like me?”

“No, you idiot!” she squawked. “I’m not gay - I mean, I don’t like - Ugh!”

As she stood back up and stomped the floor, her composure threatened to break outright. Of course - of bucking course he’d start by asking the dumbest thing imaginable! Baring her teeth and leering over at him, she noticed his shocked expression and was reminded of how big of a lovable, hunky idiot he was. He probably hadn’t meant to upset her - in fact, she’d bet all the bits in her bank account that he hadn’t wanted to make her mad, yet the assertion that she’d wanted to turn into a mare because she had a crush on him was exasperating beyond measure.

Watching her have her tantrum, he took a step to the side and over to a small table resting in the corner of his room. “I’m g…gonna get myself a drink. You w…want a drink?”

“No!” she barked, seeing him levitate two glasses and what appeared to be a bottle of brandy down from a shelf.

A pang of regret struck her. Aegis really wasn’t a bad pony by any means, yet the quaver in his voice and the tremble in his forehoof as he poured himself a measure of liquor made it painfully obvious that he was shaken. Frankly, if the horseshoe had been on the other hoof, she’d probably be just as rattled herself. Rubbing her temples, she quickly reassessed his offer.

“Actually, yeah, I could probably use one,” she huffed, collecting herself slightly.

Aegis ignited his horn and hovered a glass over to her before downing his and pouring himself another. “You realize how bananas this all is ~ right?”

“Gee - ya don’t say!” she scoffed, unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice. “If you think it’s bonkers hearing about it, you should try living it…”

Taking a large swig from her glass, she relished the burning feeling of the spirit flowing down her throat. It probably wasn’t the best idea to get drunk, but having a little something to take the edge off sure as heck wasn’t going to hurt anything - especially when she still had so much explaining to do. She’d like to think that the hard part was over, that simply confessing who she really was - rather, who she used to be, was the hard part, but she didn’t want to jinx herself.

Motioning him over, she waited until he crept closer to her and sat before clearing her throat. “Let’s set a few ground rules. First of all, try not to interrupt or act too shocked about what you’re going to hear - secondly, and this is a big one, don’t you dare laugh at any of this…”

Aegis lifted a forehoof and sagely nodded. “But what if I have a question?”

His action, intended or not, gave her the inspiration for an answer. “Do that. Just pretend you’re back in school and raise your hoof.”

Nodding again, he took a sip of his brandy. “And I’m guessing this is all supposed to be kept confidential?”

“Aegis, I bucking swear, if you so much as breathe a word of this to anypony…” She left the rest of her threat unsaid, allowing him to imagine all the horrible things she’d do to him if he ran his mouth about her true identity.

“Right,” he mumbled. “So how the hay did this all happen - like, is this something you wanted to -”

“Oh my gosh! Aegis, just shut up!” she groused. She wanted to be mad, having every right to be upset with him, but the pitiable look on his face doused her ire. “Just please be quiet. Can I guarantee that all of this will make sense? No - actually, you might be just as confused as ever, but I’m going to explain it anyway…”

Taking another small sip of liquid courage to bolster her resolve, she started to talk. No detail, regardless of how indecent it was, was omitted. The fateful evening of her cursed transformation, how she’d drunkenly flirted with the hotel clerk, her spontaneous tryst with the pegasus at the spa - everything she’d done in Ponyville, as well as the events after returning to Canterlot, were laid on the metaphorical table. To say openly talking about something so intimate and embarrassing was a relief may have been a stretch, but it did serve as a perfect distraction from what would otherwise be a maddening heat.

While her tale drew to a close, regaling him with what had led him to her door in the first place, she braced herself for the inevitable. He’d been quiet the whole time, almost too quiet, and his silence was unsettling to say the least. She’d been prepared for all sorts of questions, which led her to believe he was restraining himself until she’d finished.

“So, yeah, that’s about it,” she whispered, giving a small shrug.

He looked her up and down, apparently at a loss for words. She really couldn’t blame him for his bewilderment - for crying out loud, she probably wouldn’t have been any better off than he was if their roles were reversed. As the deafening quiet rang in her ears, her anxiety made her fidget uncomfortably.

Waving at him, she warily smiled. “Mister chatterbox doesn’t have anything to say after all that? I’m surprised you’re not -”

“I’m sorry,” he breathed. Pushing himself up and crossing to her, he embraced her. “Snowy, I’m so, so sorry you’re having to deal with all this.”

Of all the things he could have said or done, from endearingly poking fun at her to asking what it was like to have a marehood, his reaction to her plight took her completely off guard. She moved her forehoof without realizing it, wrapping it around his neck and returning the hug, until her senses kicked in. Wriggling from his clutches and backing up, she squinted at him.

“I…I can’t imagine how hard this must have been - must be for you,” he uttered, allowing her to keep her distance. “Before you say another word, don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

Somehow, as inconceivable as it was, he’d turned the tables on her. She’d fully anticipated him to be revolted or make a mockery of her, yet he was genuinely sympathetic to her plight. Breathing in his scent, relishing the warmth and comfort of his broad, powerful chest against her, she scrambled free from his clutches.

“What the hay?!” she croaked.

“What?” he countered, looking and sounding sincerely confused.

“Why are you so gosh darn perfect?!?” she seethed.

He peered over at her as the corners of his lips turned up. “I’m perfect?”

“Yes!” she bellowed. “Seriously, how are you even still single?! For buck’s sake, you should be beating mares off with a stick because of your pretty eyes, kind heart, adonic body, and fat, incredible…”

Falling motionless, she clamped her jaw shut to stop herself from completing the statement. This was too much, more than anypony should have to deal with, and she couldn’t take much more of it. A tumultuous maelstrom of feelings welled up within her, each vying for dominance, while she attempted yet again to get her contemptible emotions back in check.

“I…” he muttered, stopping as soon as her baleful eyes fell upon him.

She glared at him expectantly and only spoke when she realized he wasn’t going to keep talking. “You…?”

Somehow managing to look more uncomfortable than her, with his face having gone beet red, he turned his eyes to the floor. “I…I think you’re pretty perfect too…”

Her eyes shot wide, her jaw went slack, and her heart fluttered madly in her chest. This had to be a joke, a sick skit dreamt up by Discord to amuse itself, and she was the butt of it. There was no way he could be serious ~ could he? He’d just found out that the cute little kirin he’d ended up bedding was - er - had been a dude from another planet! She’d heard her fair share of nonsense over the years, but this had to be the biggest load of nonsense she’d ever experienced.

“Bull crap,” she spat. “Bull-hecking-crap! You’re just saying that!”

Unwavering, he crept toward her, gingerly took her by the forehoof, and gazed into her eyes. “No, I really mean it - every single word. Snowy, you were a nice human when you were Anon, but now you’re an absolutely amazing mare. You’re fun to be around, quirky, and -”

“S…shut up!” she bleated as blood rushed to her cheeks.

He shook his head as he firmly yet gently held her hoof. “I know you said you’re trying to find a way to change back into your old self, but I just wanted to say that it’s been a blast being able to see this side of you.”

His words hit her like a ton of bricks, robbing her of the ability to speak, move, or even think clearly. Some sliver of who she was, of the kirin she’d become, didn’t want to turn back. Being a human was all well and good, having a number of perks, but being a mare had an appeal all its own. She wasn’t sure what was more troubling - the fact that she was even considering staying the way she was or that she was finding it difficult to want to return to being Anon.

Aegis’ expression wavered. “Sorry, I just wanted you to know…”

As he went to pull away, she turned her hoof and clutched his foreleg. “Wait…”

Her heart hammered in her chest, her breaths came hard and heavy, and she felt lightheaded. She’d come so far over the last few months, weathering hardships that no man could ever truly comprehend, and everything she’d gone through led her to a question ~ would she be happy living her life as Snowy? She’d grown more connected with the castle’s staff than she ever had as a human, she’d gone out with friends, and she actually fit in - more than that, she may have found…

“Do…do you…” she gulped, feeling suddenly parched. “Do you really not care about who - what I was?”

Peering up at the ceiling, he gave a wry laugh. “Not like I’ve had much time to think about it, but I don’t think I do. As long as you’re happy with who you are, that’s all I care about.”

The sincerity in his voice was a light that shone through the darkness, illuminating the truth in all its wondrous and terrifying glory. She hadn’t chosen to be Snowy, but she could choose to accept her new self and all the wondrous possibilities that came with it. As he looked back at her, she lost herself in his eyes.

Her curse, the very thing that she’d been fighting tooth and hoof against, was in actuality a blessing. She forward, gripped with an undeniable compulsion, and pursed her lips. To Tartarus with it - she may change her mind after reflecting on it with a clearer head, although that was something she could deal with later - at that moment, her only desire was to thank him for being so unbelievably wonderful.

With her passion soaring higher and higher, freeing her from the shackles of her doubts and shaken sense of self-identity, she kissed him. His pillowy lips were like a dream, compelling her to finally close one chapter of her life and open another. Her knees buckled and loins heated as he returned her affection, affirming what she was finally ready to admit - she was Snowy.

Pulling back and leaving a strand of saliva connecting himself to her, Aegis broke the kiss far more quickly than she would have liked. “You’re smoking…”

“Y…you too,” she sputtered.

“No, you’re literally smoking,” he clarified, appearing far less aroused and significantly more concerned than he had been moments prior.

She peeked back at herself, following his gaze, and started. “Darn it!”

The carpet beneath her hooves was moldering, smoking and threatening to catch alight. Glancing to her left and right, she spotted and charged to his bathroom in a panic. Unless he had a fire extinguisher stashed somewhere, there was only one reasonable thing she could do. As she flung herself into his tub, slipping and falling on her side, the sound of magic filled the air.

Spying a familiar aura turned the tap, causing a shower of cool water to patter over her, she turned her attention to the door. Aegis ran to her side, ensuring the fire she’d been moments from setting had been quenched, but he didn’t appear upset in the slightest - on the contrary, his expression was one of concern. She attempted to stand, rolling onto her belly and unintentionally slipping when he reached the side of the basin.

“Are you ok?” he asked, offering his hoof.

Drenched in more ways than one, she frowned and took his hoof. “This is your fault!”

Though she had every intention of getting up and continuing to berate him, her indignation got the better of her. She pulled a bit too hard and overcorrected, hauling him into the basin and on top of her while she tried to get her hooves beneath herself. Squirming beneath him, she weakly flailed and batted at him.

“Get - Mmmph - off me!” she yelped.

Sensing no movement from him, she looked upwards. His face was inches from hers, a smile was on his muzzle, and his mane damply clung to his shoulders. He hadn’t said a word, aside from checking to see if she was alright, yet his actions and demeanor spoke volumes. It was in that instant, that infinitesimally small fragment of time, that it dawned on her; if ever there was a pony who’d accept her and be there for her, it was him.

Unfettered joy crushed her dread and doubts into oblivion as she shot forward and drove her tongue past his lips and into his muzzle. She was free, free to relish all the things she’d fought so hard to hold back, and she was done being too scared to act on her feelings. Closing his eyes and slipping one foreleg around her back, he softly moaned.

She kicked off with a hind leg and rolled onto him, seeing steam radiating off her body. The water was keeping her from igniting, if only just, but there wasn’t anything wrong with erring on the side of caution; while she and her dress may have been immune to flame, Aegis was not - nevertheless, she couldn’t bring herself to stop making out with him.

“Panties,” she wheezed, pulling away for just long enough to utter the single word.

His horn flared to life as he tightened his grip on her. She couldn’t see it, but she could sure as heck feel her dress being drawn upward while her underwear was pulled to the side. They’d crossed the threshold, there was nothing to stop them, and neither of them were going to stop until their feelings for one another were fully consummated. Rocking her hips forward and dragging her marehood over his hardening length, she allowed his stallionhood to spring into the cleft of her tush.

Acting in nearly perfect unison, just as the tip of his cock kissed her entrance, Aegis thrust upward while Snowy threw her weight downward. A pleased grunt from him mingled with her guttural, gratified groan. Though there was still a slight chance that the water cascading over her wouldn’t be enough to keep her from fully transforming into a nirik, the only fire either of them paid any mind was the roaring inferno of their unspoken passion.

“Yes,” she moaned, moving in tune with him and bucking back to meet his plunges.

She adored every part of him, from the way he sounded and smelled to how much bigger and stronger he was than her, but she wouldn’t deny that his stallionhood, at least at that particular juncture, gave her everything she needed. The sense of fullness and the delicate curve of his length hit all the right spots, giving her the satisfaction she so desperately craved. Hilting him and wiggling her hips, she clenched around him.

In a word, his endowment was flawless. His medial ring was in just the right to grind against, while the blunt head of his shaft seated itself her cervix. She couldn’t help but think that he’d been made for her, every part of him appealed to her perfectly, and the idea of giving him up, of abandoning how incredible he could make her feel, made her forget all about being Anon.

She was still Anon at her core, having only changed slightly, but now she was so much more than a man. Her heightened senses, being appealing to those around her, and fitting in would have been strong selling points by themselves, but the sex - sweet mercy, the sex was an order of magnitude better than anything she’d ever experienced as a human. Leaning back and bracing one foreleg on the side of the tub, she reached down, past her teats, to rub her clit.

“Allow me,” he hummed as his horn began to glow.

The tingling sensation of his magic on her nipples and clit didn’t push her past the edge - they launched her over it with devastating force. She came so hard and so fast that she wasn’t able to fully comprehend what had hit her, howling out and shaking like a leaf in the wind. Her shrill, blissful wail echoed throughout the small chamber, nectar gushed from her spasming depths, and her movements faltered as her mind went blank.

Aegis didn’t relent while she endured her climax - if anything, he picked up speed and seized the reins. She didn’t resist in the slightest, freely giving over what little control she had while letting him hammer into her from below. While she couldn’t see anything wrong with taking the lead from time to time, riding him or taking a more assertive role, she could easily see herself submitting to him and letting him rail her into a coma however or wherever he liked.

Her second climax hit almost as abruptly as the first, making her bray to the heavens in unapologetic rapture. Good gravy - yeah, the ability to have multiple orgasms in rapid succession, having virtually no refractory period to speak of, was definitely one of the more appealing things about being a mare - so much so that it nearly made up for the whole estrus ordeal she’d been dealing with. She fully reclined and rested her shoulders against the back wall of the basin as she milked his pistoning length.

While she wasn’t able to do much, nearly blinded by her ecstasy, she was able to fiercely grip his stallionhood on his backstrokes. In an odd sort of way, her time as a man gave her a bit of insight on how best to please him. From a guy’s perspective, regardless of their species, getting a show was just as important as the enthusiasm of their lover.

“H…harder,” she mewled, throwing her head back.

He heeded her request without the slightest bit of hesitation, bracing his legs and ratcheting up the intensity of his thrusts. The physical bliss of being railed was matched exquisitely by the psychological pleasure of having him do his best to ruin her. He wanted her just as badly as she wanted him, and he wasn’t going to stop until he filled her with his sweltering, virile…

“Oh gods,” she screamed, wracked with yet another orgasm.

Simply thinking about having him creampie her had been enough to evoke another climax. There’d been a time when she would have been disgusted by the idea of having a stallion cum inside her, but that time had passed. As an attractive, young, fertile mare, it was her natural place to have a big, hunky stallion pump his essence straight into her foal factory.

Picking up the pace, causing her to cum over and over again, Aegis flew into a frenzy. He felt amazing - no, better than amazing! As she absentmindedly kneaded one teat and whimpered in unfettered delight, her rapturous stupor was shattered when she sensed just how hard he was throbbing. The battering ram-like head of his stallionhood battered against her inner gate, pulsing in tune with his heart, when it finally happened. With an unstoppable thrust, he sank into her untouched depths.

He roared and snorted victoriously as the tip of his length swelled and locked itself in her womb. Every throb of his shaft sent what felt like pints of cream into her, and she was not prepared. Her eyes rolled to the very back of her head, her mouth hung open in a silent scream, and the world closed in around her while she was bred.

She’d thought she’d understood what ecstasy was, yet the unimaginable pleasure that consumed her was beyond her comprehension. Wild imaginings of herself with him, going out on dates and settling down to start a family, assailed her and brought her to the gates of nirvana itself. It was at that point, being claimed while in the midst of the very first heat she’d suffered through, that she accepted herself inside and out - unfortunately for her, she couldn’t fully cherish it.

Her vision darkened and her limbs went slack as she toppled forward and onto him. It was a bit ignominious for her to cum so hard that she passed out, yet she’d given no choice in the matter. Between the seemingly unending string of climaxes and the end to her mental torment, not to mention how she may have bagged the perfect coltfriend for herself, she was spent in every conceivable fashion. Slipping into a euphoric oblivion, safe and secure in his loving hooves, the last thoughts she had were ones of happiness and how her life would truly change after the incredible night…

Chapter 7

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No sooner did Snowy’s eyes flutter open than a smile graced her muzzle. The warm rays of sunshine creeping through the window were pleasant, the bed was comfortable, and the sound of songbirds in the castle’s courtyard were the perfect things to wake up to, yet those weren’t what warmed the depths of her heart. She shifted ever so slightly and peeked over her shoulder, feeling the deep, heavy breaths of the stallion softly snoozing against her.

Both she and Aegis had agreed that they’d only share a bed on the nights before they both had a day off work, although that shrewd plan hadn’t lasted more than a hoofful of days. As she gazed at his tranquil features, simply savoring how wondrous he was even while sleeping, she contentedly sighed. There were still times when the peculiar nature of herself and their relationship came to the fore, but they no longer bothered her - in fact, she and Aegis had taken to making light of them.

While her thoughts drifted back to that magical night, the tumultuous evening that had liberated her very soul, she shook her head and bit back a chuckle. Aegis was a peach, treating her like a veritable Princess both in and out of the bedroom, and she wouldn’t trade him for the world - even if he endearingly picked on her from time to time. Try as she might to act cross with him, particularly when she’d be the but of his jokes or when he’d check her out to ensure her manhood hadn’t miraculously returned, she simply couldn’t be angry with him.

She started and looked down his body, feeling something warm twitching against her tush. She’d learned a lot about stallions since she’d started dating him, including that they were just as prone to morning wood as humans were, and the subtle reminder of his virility sent an excited thrill to her loins. Glancing over to the clock and seeing she had about twenty minutes until the alarm went off, she slowly wriggled her way under the sheets.

Surreptitiously moving beneath the blanket, she was besieged by his scent. Even if they had changed the covers after having sex the night before, there was no way his bed wouldn’t reek of him - not like that was a bad thing by any means. She moved by feel alone, unable to see anything in the pitch darkness, until she felt her shoulder bump against this knee.

If there was a better way for a stallion to wake up than with a blowjob, she couldn’t fathom it. Twisting around to face him and being mindful of her horn, she sniffed the air and brought her muzzle to his groin. There was something deliciously naughty about sucking him off, specifically since neither he nor herself had showered before hitting the sack, and she wasn’t about to bother him and ask for permission - after all, he was her coltfriend.

She delicately kissed her way over his ripe, fuzzy balls and up his steadily hardening length. Attempting to articulate why it was so hot to service him would have been a fool’s errand, but she supposed it was something to do with her biology. He was significantly more powerful than her, larger and with a phenomenal physique, and she took joy from getting him off. Twisting slightly and drawing a forehoof past her teats and to her loins, she rubbed her winking marehood while she mutely made out with the tip of his length.

Closing her eyes and relishing the taste and aroma of his unwashed flesh, her imagination ran wild. She hadn’t intended for the castle’s staff to figure out she and Aegis were an item - for buck’s sake, she’d hoped to keep their little relationship a secret, but that plan had blown up in the most spectacular fashion. Ponies, like humans, had an affinity to gossip, so it should have come as no surprise that word spread like wildfire that one of the guards was dating the only kirin living in the keep.

Groaning around him, she fixated on her clit and lightly bucked her hips. Heaven help her, she really was a lost cause. She’d tried - oh how she’d tried to keep up appearances, acting no different than usual while on the clock, but Aegis was too irresistible. He was a fiend, going out of his way to give her a peck on the cheek or coincidentally bumping into her while she was tending to her duties, and she’d been unable to stop him.

Though they’d only been together for just over a week, public displays of affection were becoming increasingly frequent. They’d bring each other lunch if their schedules were out of sync, it wasn’t uncommon for them to trot alongside each other on their way to start their shifts, and the flirting - mother of mercy, the flirting between them was nearly comical! Like a pair of love-struck foals in grade school, neither of them could help themselves around one another!

She filled her lungs and drove her head downward, forcing his cock-head into her gullet. Throating him still wasn’t easy, and she suspected it would take months or possibly even years of practice to become more skillful with it, but he was worth the effort. Stifling a gag and kneading her cunt, she mopped the underside of his shaft with her tongue.

Her eyes watered and her esophagus spasmed, but she didn’t relent. The only way she’d be able to handle him rutting her face, something they both wanted to try out at some point, was by getting outside her comfort zone. Only slowing once her lips graced his medial ring, the thick band of flesh that marked the trunk-like, annoyingly girthy root of his cock, she withdrew and bobbed her head.

Sucking somepony off shortly after getting up, like so many other things in her life over the last few months, was yet another activity she never would have thought she’d find herself doing - be that as it may, she wouldn’t pretend she didn’t love getting him off. Maybe it was because she’d finally stopped keeping herself from enjoying her new life, or perhaps her marish biology held some sway over her amorous interests - whatever the case may be, giving him sexual relief was profoundly arousing.

She pulled back and brought his cock-head into her maw, nursing on it while she caught her breath, and froze when the darkness around her was broken. Shifting and peeking up to the head of her bed, she spotted Aegis holding the blanket up and smirking down at her. He had the face of an angel, wreathed from the light outside, and merely seeing his smile drove back any lingering doubts that she no longer wanted to turn back into who she once was.

“Having fun?” he softly inquired.

He yawned and brought a hoof to his muzzle as she freed her snout. “Maybe…” she hummed, sliding away from him and bringing her forehoof to his stallionhood. “Want me to keep going?”

Rubbing his eyes, he gave a little shrug. “Honestly, I’d rather get a few more minutes of cuddling in before we have to get up.”

“Won’t hear me complain about that,” she huffed, quickly crawling back up the bed and turning her back to him.

He wormed one foreleg under her chest while placing the other against her shoulder and pulled her to his chest. “Sleep good?”

“Yeah,” she murmured, rolling her hips and hotdogging his dick between her buns. “You?”

“With you in my bed, I don’t think I’d have a bad night’s rest if I tried,” he chuckled, kissing his way up her collar and to her cheek. “So when are we gonna ask Celestia for a couple’s suite?”

Giggling like a school filly, she turned her head away from him. “Stop! It’s bad enough that the whole castle knows what we’ve been doing.”

“Hey - I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job at keeping it down when we - you know…” he snickered, bucking his hips to illustrate his point.

She pouted her lips as she peeked back at him, doing her darnedest to act hurt. “We’d be quieter if somepony would move the bed and keep it from bashing against the wall.”

Leaning in and staring into her eyes, he playfully snorted. “Says the mare who’s loud enough to wake up the whole wing - heck, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you wanted to let everypony know when we’re having fun.”

Her blush deepend and she averted her gaze. “T…that’s not true.”

“So I guess half of my squad were just pulling my leg when they told me they could hear us the other night,” he mused. Reaching over and gently turning her head to face him, he winked. “You might not admit it, but you secretly like having ponies talk about us…”

“N…no!” she weakly asserted.

Keeping his grip on her, he readjusted and brought the tip of his length to her entrance. “Ready?”

Sensing her marehood needily wink and drool, dribbling a cocktail of her juices and his seed from the night before down her inner thigh and to the sheets, she couldn’t answer him. The fact that he could overpower her easily would have been enough to get her wound up on a regular basis, but having him see through her, having the ability to tell when she was trying to misdirect or deceive him, made him nothing short of irresistible. Rolling her hips back and kissing her marehood to his dick, she closed her eyes and pursed her lips.

Fortunately for her, he didn’t leave her hanging. He groaned as he kissed her, simultaneously sinking his tongue into her snout while his stallionhood plunged into her quivering depths. She wasn’t a religious mare, never had been and likely never would be, but she prayed to any higher powers that would listen that she’d never grow tired of the feeling of being filled.

Passionately albeit somewhat clumsily making out with him, she pushed back to meet his thrusts. In the relatively short period of time she’d been with him, they’d despoiled each other’s rooms thoroughly, screwing on, under, or against every piece of furniture they owned, but starting their day with some affectionate fuggles, their pet name for fornicating whilst cuddling, was a favorite for the both of them. As she splayed her hind legs and allowed him to plunge deeper, his horn glowed and bathed her face in soft light.

“Ah ah,” he tutted, clutching her forelegs in his aura. “You know the rules…”

“P…please,” she stammered, unable to move her upper limbs.

Lazily plowing her from behind, he peaked a brow expectantly. “Please what…?”

Darn it - darn him and his stupid, sexy rules to Tartarus. Not long after she’d come clean and their relationship had started in earnest, they’d set down a few standards for bedroom affairs. After boundaries and hazy areas were discussed, ensuring neither would step on the other’s hooves, some less standard etiquettes were set - chief amongst which being she was supposed to ask if she could touch herself while they were having sex.

On a purely superficial level, getting permission to masturbate would be sexist at best and borderline abusive at worst, but Aegis had never left her wanting - if anything, the subtle amount of control he exerted over her had her cumming her brains out harder and quicker than she would have otherwise! Moving in tune with him, rhythmically relaxing and constricting her depths around him, she moaned into his muzzle.

The benefits that came from having him as a lover were too many to count, including the enormous boost of self-confidence she’d gotten since confessing who she was and her romantic interest in him, but one of the best and arguably safest was that she rarely had to worry about spontaneously combusting from sexual frustration. Throughout the remainder of her heat, he went to great, heavenly lengths to ensure she was never pent-up - even after her estrus was finished, should she find herself in the mood, all it took was a bit of teasing from her to get him worked up enough to plow her into a whimpering, squirting mess. There was only one small problem with their raging libidos, one that could and occasionally would cause them both problems - it was hard for them not to get turned on around each other.

It may have been ridiculous, but even the smallest thing could set off a lustful domino effect. Simply passing one another in a corridor of the castle and meeting eyes could and on one occasion had sent them scurrying into a broom closet for a quickie - sure, there was a chance they’d get caught one of these days, but that was part of the fun. Throwing her ass back and hilting him, she broke the kiss and bit his lip.

“Harder,” she purred.

He obliged her without question, unsheathing most of his not inconsiderable length to hammer into her. Falling still and relinquishing what little control she had, she relished the sensation of his hips beating against her tush while his cock-head rammed her cervix. Yeah, to heck with being a guy - as far as she was concerned, now that she’d seen the light, giving up her dick in exchange for the unfathomable bliss that came from having a pussy was well worth it.

Angling his plunges to send his medial ring scraping over her g-spot, he brought his snout to her ear. “We need the potion?”

She feverishly shook her head, sensing herself on the cusp of a climax. “N…no - keep g…going…”

The potion, as well as the linens and a fire extinguisher that was conveniently placed by the bed, were precautions in the event of a flare-up. While they hadn’t needed any of the items, having them on hoof certainly didn’t hurt anything. With her heart pounding and marehood trembling, pushed beyond the brink, she arched her back and squealed as her climax struck her.

Steaming nectar seeped from her stuffed confines, sullying him, herself, and the sheets, yet Aegis didn’t slow. Plowing her with reckless abandon, spurred on by her orgasm and seeking relief himself, he went all out. Now that she’d cum, it was his turn to have some fun.

She writhed and babbled incoherently, urging him to breed her and pump a foal into her as his stallionhood flared. Though she’d just endured a climax, she was pushed to the cusp of another within seconds. Begging him to fill her, promising him the moon and waxing poetic about how incredible he was, she wasn’t left waiting for long.

Burying his length, he dipped his head and bit the nape of her neck. It was no coincidence that she came the split second his seed bathed her interior, coating her womb and marking her as his mare. Sweet, merciful Celestia - being creampied was the best thing in the world, vastly better than cumming as a dude, and it was rewarding on an existential level. To be claimed, taken by a hunky stud who was desperately trying to knock you up, simply couldn’t be beat.

Heaving air into her chest and falling still, barring the occasional muscle twitch in her thighs or marehood, she weakly turned her head and pecked his brow. “B…breakfast after we shower?”

He looked past her and to the clock - well, where the clock had been resting on his night stand. “Probably don’t have - Cough - time. Lunch later?”

“Sure that - Nnnph,” she grunted as he withdrew, sobering immediately as the relatively cool air graced her gaped, leaking snatch. “Sure.”

While she would have loved nothing more than to laze about in bed with him all day, she knew they couldn’t neglect their duties. He’d pulled a few strings to get him on the day shift, throwing his rank around to make sure they had their afternoons together, so she really had no reason to complain. Telling herself that their time apart meant their time together would be all the sweeter, she unsteadily eased herself down from the bed and followed him into the bathroom.

Outside of the smallest bit of teasing, kissing and the incidental grope while they washed one another, their shower went without incident. She didn’t live with him in a technical sense, but she spent the night in his room often enough to keep toiletries, a small number of outfits, and her effects in his chamber. Once she’d dried off with the help of his magic, she brushed her mane and met him by the door.

“You gonna be ok?” he asked, opening the door and ushering her out.

Trotting out and waiting for him in the corridor, she watched him lock up behind himself. “I’ll probably grab a pastry and coffee at the cafeteria a little later ~ you?”

“Same,” he replied, turning to face her. “How do I look?”

Looking him up and down, she reached out and adjusted his pauldron. “Like my little stud muffin.”

“I bet you say that to all the guards,” he snickered, trotting past her and giving her rear a playful smack.

She returned the favor and slapped his ass as she cantered up to his side. “Nope, just my stud muffin.”

Fighting the urge to press herself to his side, she accompanied him to the barracks. The royal guards assembled at the beginning and ending of each shift to divvy out assignments, perform inspections, and discuss details regarding security concerns or stately matters. Honestly, she found their activities relatively boring and a bit too strict, but Aegis seemed to enjoy the routine and that’s all that she really cared about.

Aegis came to a halt by his destination and reluctantly looked over at her. “Don’t work too hard, sweetheart.”

“You neither,” she breathed, leaning over and kissing his cheek. “Lunch at noon?”

“I’ll try to be there, but don’t starve yourself on my account,” he responded. “If I’m not there by twelve-fifteen, go ahead and get yourself something to eat.”

“Right,” she grunted, knitting her brow and trying her best to look serious. “So get both our lunches and hunt you down - got it.”

She gave him no time to reply, giving him a little salute before wheeling around and trotting in the direction they’d come from. Nopony, least of which being Aegis, would force her to get lunch for him, but there were few things as rewarding as bringing a smile to his handsome face. Rounding a corner and heading toward the throne room, she peeked back at him, waved, and kept on her way.

As she peered down the corridor and to the nearest stairwell, her thoughts turned to her day ahead. Like many shifts before and many shifts yet to come, it was almost impossible for her to know what she’d be stepping into once she came face to face with Celestia - then again, that was one reason she actually liked her job. Sometimes she’d end up delivering mail or running errands in Canterlot - others she’d help with paperwork or simply be another pair of ears to listen in on a meeting. While it wasn’t the most glamorous work in the castle, it was fun and kept her on her hooves - plus she was happy not to be stuck at a desk every day.

Trotting down a spiral staircase, she proceeded to the ground floor. She’d intentionally taken the scenic route to avoid passing the cafeteria, knowing that smelling, much less seeing fresh pastries and coffee would tempt her to stop for breakfast, but yet her sensitive little snout could still detect the aroma of what had to be blueberry scones from the opposite wing of the castle. She’d pick up something to nibble on later, but not before she showed her face and at least started tending to her duties.

She stopped dead in her tracks rounding a corner and went rigid. There weren’t many, if any things in the castle that could give her a moment for pause, not after everything she’d been through, although the sight before her made her blood run cold. In the middle of the vast hallway, keeping her head lowered and wings outstretched, stood none other than Twilight Sparkle - and she did not look happy.

Momentarily stricken with the compulsion to flee, Snowy pressed onward and fought to keep herself from scowling. “Princess Twilight…”

Twilight remained motionless, watching her trot nearer and nearer without saying a word. It had been weeks since her last encounter with the Princess of Friendship, and she’d frankly hoped that the young alicorn had lost interest in her - alas, that didn’t appear to be the case. Looking past the Element of Harmony, keeping her hooves crossed that she’d be able to avoid an unpleasant exchange, she balked when the mare teleported in front of her and cut her off.

“Snowy,” Twilight began, studying her, “you’re just the mare I was hoping to bump into.”

Snowy sidestepped the Princess and kept moving. “With all due respect, can we do this later? I’ve got to -”

“No, no we can’t do this later,” Twilight interrupted, teleporting a second time and appearing before her. “You’re probably wondering what’s important enough to have me show up like this.”

Pinching the bridge of her snout, Snowy mutely reminded herself not to act overtly belligerent. “That’s one way of putting it. If you don’t mind explaining to Celestia why I’m going to be late, by all means, indulge me about what’s so important.”

Twilight grinned, lifted a foreleg, and magically produced a small scroll from thin air. “Do you know what this is?”

“Uh - velum?” Snowy quipped, unable to keep the cynicism from her voice.

“Yes, but it’s what’s written on the velum that’s so fascinating,” Twilight remarked, unfurling and presenting the scroll. “I’ve spent the last month in the kirin’s village - you know, your home, and I’ve made a number of absolutely fascinating discoveries!”

The Princess’ tone set Snowy’s nerves on edge, yet it was what was written that caused a cold knot to form in her stomach. Names - she was looking at a tidy list of names and what appeared to be demographic information on a number of ponies - no, kirin. Looking past the scroll, she grimaced.

“I really couldn’t care less - you know, because you were at my home,” she huffed.

“Funny,” Twilight cheerlessly snickered, rolling and sorcerously sending the scroll back from whence it came. “Snowy, that is too interesting!”

“What is…?” Snowy growled. “If there’s a point to this, I’d appreciate it if you make it quick. I’m not in the mood to -”

“It’s funny because none of the kirin I spoke with have the slightest clue who you are -” Twilight chirped, steadily circling her and inspecting her, “furthermore, there are no records of you existing anywhere! Isn’t that strange?”

With her anxiety spiking, Snowy forced herself to trot past the Princess. “Probably just a clerical error. If you want specifics, go talk to -”

“Rain Shine?” Twilight interrupted, hopping back and barring her path. “Oh I spoke with her extensively! I find it odd that she’s the only one who claims to know the slightest thing about you - sure, a number of the kirin said they saw you in Ponyville, but that just doesn’t make sense. Maybe you can help me understand what’s going on here, Snowy, because I’m very, very confused. How does a kirin that nopony’s ever met work for the Canterlot castle, be all buddy-buddy with Rain Shine, and somehow get all friendly with Princess Celestia?”

Snowy held her breath and tried to calm her pounding heart. This was potentially catastrophic - possibly worse than catastrophic. Twilight hadn’t forgotten about her, she’d gone snooping and unraveled the carefully laid scheme that was her life. Taking a small step back, she awkwardly cleared her throat.

“I g…guess I’m just lucky,” she grumbled.

“Luck - huh,” Twilight grunted, looking up to the ceiling while stroking her chin. “Well I guess I’m the lucky one now. You’re coming with me…”

“The hay do you…” Snowy fell silent as power surged into the Princess’ horn. “What are you even doing?!”

“What I have to,” Twilight snorted. “You think it’s just a coincidence that you show up shortly after Anon disappears? I don’t know who or what you are, but I am going to find out what you did with the human and what your intentions are for this kingdom…”

Holy bucking heck - this wasn’t bad, this was apocalyptically bad. Twilight, the socially awkward Princess of Friendship was pissed, not inconvenienced, not slightly annoyed, but legitimately angry. As she backed away, teetering on the verge of panic, the alicorn steadily pursued her.

Glancing back, she turned her attention back to Twilight. “If you’re that worried about me, why don’t you t…talk to Celestia? I’m sure she’d be more than happy to address any of your c…concerns.”

“Oh I talked to her already. Do you know what she did?” Twilight pressed, prompting Snowy to shake her head. “She laughed at me - laughed! You’d think that after dealing with a changeling invasion, Discord’s chaotic return, Tirek, and nearly having Equestria toppled by a trio of ne’er-do-wells, she’d take something like a disappearing human and suspicious kirin a little more seriously, but I’m not worried about it.”

Not in the slightest bit convinced, Snowy gulped. “You’re n…not?”

“Not a bit!” Twilight giggled. “If Celestia, Luna, and even Rain Shine aren’t going to figure out what you are and where your intentions lie, I will…”

Snowy turned tail and bolted as soon as she saw the first arks of magic crackle around Twilight’s horn. Though she doubted she was in any mortal peril, she’d really rather not find out what the incensed alicorn was going to do with or to her. Breaking into a full gallop, she took the first turn she came across and ran away.

Reaching Celestia was the only way she was going to get out of this mess, but that was easier said than done. With Twilight between her and the throne room, and with the castle’s staff unlikely to intervene with a rampaging Princess, she was going to have to rely on her wits and - well, frankly, her wits were all she had to rely on. Cutting through a vestibule that lead to one of the many sitting areas on the floor, she barreled into and over somepony.

“Heckin’ dang it,” she cursed, scrambling over the figure. As she got to her hooves, intent on continuing her escape, she noticed exactly whom she’d run into. “Silver?”

“Snowy?” Silver coughed, pushing herself up and brushing herself off. “Did you miss breakfast or - what’s wrong?”

Snowy flung herself behind a chair and peeked out into the hallway. “Twilight’s trying to find me…”

Cocking her head and following the kirin’s gaze, Snowy pursed her lips. “Like ~ find you in a fun way or find you in a -”

“No, bird brain, find me and capture me or something!” Snowy hissed. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her, but she thinks I had something to do with Anon disappearing.”

“I mean, you kinda did,” Silver chuckled. Her amusement faded as soon as she saw the look of concern on her friend’s face. “Oh buck, you’re serious. Did you try explaining what happened - what really happened to Anon?”

Whipping her head toward the pegasus, Snowy scowled. “Of course I didn’t! It’s not her business!”

“You might want to consider - heck,” Silver breathed. “She’s outside.”

Snowy’s hair stood on end and her mouth went dry. “Go distract her…”

“Are you crazy?” Silver seethed. “She’s a Princess and a hero of Equestria?”

“And?” Snowy quietly raged. “I’m not saying to go knock her out or anything, just -”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Silver loudly announced trotting away and to the entrance. “It is such an honor to see you again! Could I interest you in some refreshments or -”

“Where is she?” Twilight cut the pegasus off.

There was a long pause before Silver replied. “Where’s who? If you’re asking about Sprinkles, she went off to -”

“The kirin, the one you’ve been cozying up with,” the Princess flatly stated.

There’d been very few moments in Snowy’s life when she felt like she might void her bowels, but darned if this wasn’t one of them. Twilight had been a savant with arcane forces before ascending to alicorn status - now she could fly and enough sorcerous might to move celestial bodies or level mountains with ease. Outrunning the Princess was an utterly absurd notion, but it was downright sane compared to any sort of direct confrontation.

She remained motionless while the two went back and forth, listening to Silver denying that she’d seen her, until a singular sound made her heart nearly stop. Magic, regardless of how it was applied, was always accompanied by a unique noise, and what she’d heard marked the end of the one-sided discussion happening only a stone’s throw away. Summoning the courage to look out from behind the chair, she noticed her friend suspended in the air in a large, transparent bubble.

“There you are,” Twilight mused, leveling her horn at the stricken kirin. “Hold still…”

Snowy jooked to one side, narrowly avoiding a blast of energy, and charged at Twilight. She wasn’t about to get into a scrap, but the only exit was past the alicorn - that or defenestrating herself through a stained glass window. Knocking the Princess over, she barged through the door and back into the hallway.

Silver hadn’t appeared injured, clumsily sprawled and pushing at the magical sphere that had contained her, but that didn’t assuage her fears in the slightest. From the stories she’d heard, mostly from old-timers around the castle, Twilight was prone to manic bouts of borderline delirium - in short, though she was arguably a genius and a savant, her mental state wasn’t entirely stable. Dwelling on what fate would befall her if she was captured and possibly dragged to a laboratory of some sort, she whipped around a corner and made a break for the throne room.

With a flash of light and pop of displaced air, Twilight winked into existence a few dozen feet ahead of her. “Where are you going?”

Snowy skidded across the marble floor, her hooves failing to gain purchase, and reversed course. It may not have been the brightest idea to go try and outrun a Princess, but that didn’t stop her from trying. Serpentining through the corridor as blasts of sorcery rained in her direction, she made a hard left, nearly fell, and sprinted for the one place that may give her the edge she needed.

Regardless of the relatively harmless spellwork Twilight was hurling around all willy-nilly, she doubted the Princess would recklessly start blasting in a heavily occupied area. Cutting through service areas and little-used passageways, thankful that she’d memorized the layout of the floor ages ago, she briefly paused at an intersection and spotted the cafeteria. Eating was the last thing on her mind, but surrounding herself with staff members and civilians alike should buy her a bit of time - should being the key word.

She burst through the double-doors into the cafeteria, hastily scanned the area, and raced to an exit at the far end of the cavernous chamber. Her chances of actually losing Twilight were incredibly slim, but that wasn’t what kept her moving. So long as she could create some space between them, and possibly a little bit of chaos, she might be able to get to the relative safety of the throne room.

Throwing her weight down and sliding beneath a vacant table, she narrowly avoided a bolt of energy that flew above where she’d just stood. Ponies yelled and jumped from their seats, trays and food fell to the floor, and all Tartarus broke loose. She’d never been the biggest fan of Discord, but she’d like to think that the mischievous draconequus would have been proud of the bedlam that ensued.

She grunted as she squeezed herself from under a chair and continued her retreat. While she did feel a bit bad for the poor ponies who got caught in the crossfire, floating to the ceiling in their arcane bubbles, they were a problem she could deal with later - after she got Celestia to talk some sense into her rampaging protege. Glancing back at the pandemonium, seeing ponies drifting about lazily in their glowing, magical spheres while her ears rang with the commotion, she darted out a second exit.

“You can’t hide from me, Snowy -” Twilight raged, “if that is your real name!!!”

Her thoughts raced as her hooves carried her away. Given how unhinged Twilight was acting, apparently having lost herself to paranoia, she highly doubted she’d be able to reason into the unhinged Princess, but there was somepony who could. She slid around a corner and spotted the unique, towering doors that led to what she dearly hoped would be her salvation.

“Official business!” she blared, hurrying past two very confused praetorians flanking the throne room.

She spun as soon as she entered the room, promptly fell on her ass, and quickly got back to her hooves. Ordinarily speaking, it would have taken two ponies and a good amount of force to close either of the monolithic doors of the chamber - luckily for her, fueled by raw adrenaline, she was able to slam the first shut with startling ease. Only stopping once the exit was barred, she turned to face the Princess - the one who wasn’t currently running riot through the castle.

“Oh thank buck,” she wheezed, cantering over to the throne. “Celestia, you’ve got to -”

“Snowy, what fortuitous timing,” Celestia demurely exclaimed. “Rain Shine is -”

Barely paying the tall, rangy kirin any mind, not having noticed her in her haste to seek sanctuary, she waved a forehoof. “No time! Twilight is -”

“Twilight is what?” a voice coolly rang out, sending a cold chill up her spine. Trotting out from behind the throne, past Celestia and Rain Shine, Twilight smiled triumphantly. “Got you…”

Snowy looked between the trio of royals before her eyes ultimately settled on Celestia. “Would you please tell her how crazy she’s acting! She’s convinced that -”

“That you’re influencing Celestia, did something with Anon, and have swayed the royal guard by - Ugh - fraternizing with a ranking officer? I knew something was up as soon as I heard Anon mysteriously returned home,” Twilight snarled. Turning and looking up to Celestia, she waved a hand at the kirin. “Don’t you understand how large of a threat she is?! I showed you all the evidence, you heard from your own staff that she claimed to be a spy, and there’s clearly something wrong with her!”

Smiling as though nothing at all were wrong, Celestia looked the quarreling duo over. “It is rather suspicious.”

“Come to think of it, I have heard of some rather questionable behavior on your part -” Rain chimed in, “specifically regarding your lack of self-control.”

“Oh come on!” Snowy shouted. “You know good and well this is a load of horse apples!”

Rain lifted a hoof and stepped forward. “Perhaps I can -”

“No, I believe we should leave it to fair Snowy to explain everything,” Celestia interjected, reaching over to stop the kirin ruler.”

Askance, Snowy shied back. “Bucking seriously?!”

Celestia turned her attention to her former student as her expression hardened. “Twilight.”

“Y…yes, Celestia?” stuttered, all animosity bleeding out of her simply by hearing her name.

“If Snowy would be so kind as to thoroughly address your concerns, do I have your solemn vow that you’ll keep the details in the utmost confidence?” Celestia peacefully inquired.

Instantly bowing, Twilight straightened up and held a forehoof to her chest. “O…of course, but I don’t -”

“Swear it,” Celesita breathed.

“I…I swear,” Twilight muttered.

With the corners of her lips turning up, Celestia waved to Snowy. “If you’d be so kind as to clear up this confusion…”

Letting the cat out of the bag to yet another pony hadn’t been something Snowy had expected to do anytime soon - despite that, she clamped her eyes shut and slowed her breathing. It would have only been a matter of time until somepony started putting the pieces together and snooping around, but she hadn’t been looking forward to it. Seating herself on the cool floor, she softly groaned.

“Alright,” she began, “so here’s what’s been going on…”

Similarly to how she’d done with Silver and Aegis, she started from the start of her wild adventure as a kirin. Celestia and Rain sat and quietly listened in amusement, either having heard the tale or been there for parts of it, but it was Twilight’s reaction that was truly entertaining. Appearing both stunned and shocked at times, especially around the more scandalous parts, the Princess of Friendship was either too polite or too stunned to speak.

“There ~” she spat, “happy now, Princess?”

Twilight’s jaw flapped as she struggled to find her voice. “I…I don’t…”

“Don’t what?” Snowy urged. “Bet you feel like a real jackass now that -”

Boom

Everypony in the room, including herself, looked over as the towering double-doors were thrown inward. A squadron - no, an entire platoon of heavily armed and armored guards charged into the chamber with a spear-wielding unicorn at their head. It took her a moment to realize who she was looking at, but she got up as soon as she recognized his face.

“Fan out!” Aegis ordered, sorcerously wielding a pair of halberds beside either shoulder. “Secure the Princesses and -”

“That will hardly be necessary, Lance Corporal, Aegis Edge,” Celestia announced, unseating herself and serenely approaching the mass of troops.

“Ma’am,” Aegis started, snapping to attention and slamming the butts of his polearms to the floor. “There was a disturbance reported in the cafeteria, reports of Twilight running amok, and -”

Patting his shoulder and silencing him, Celestia snickered. “It was a misunderstanding, though I salute you for your diligence. If you’d be so kind as to have the guards clean up the mess, I’d be most appreciative.”

Aegis didn’t budge, though his eyes shot over to Snowy. “With all due respect, are you sure, Ma’am?”

“Think of this as a training exercise,” Celestia hummed. Lifting her gaze to the troops, she waved a wing. “I think we can all thank Twilight for her wondrous - oh,” she hesitated, looking back as Twilight teleported away. “Well feel free to thank Twilight later for her assistance with this drill.”

The soldiers milled about briefly, undoubtedly perplexed by what had just happened, but all of them turned and began filing out - all of them save for one. Aegis remained and stared over at Snowy. Lowering his weapons and lifting a forehoof, he removed his helm and took a step toward the flabbergasted kirin.

“Go on,” Celestia whispered in his ear.

The small blessing was all he needed to rush over to Snowy and take her forehoof. “Are you ok?”

Looking up and into his eyes, Snowy felt her legs threaten to buckle. “Yeah…”

He was upon her in a blink, throwing his forelegs around her neck and snaring her in the pony equivalent of a bear hug. “Don’t do that again,” he halfheartedly groused, “or at least warn me about some bonkers drill like this next time…”

The warmth of his body was eclipsed by the concern in his voice, robbing her of the ability to move. Her heart swelled, her throat constricted, and she could feel her eyes starting to water. He cared - he truly cared for her, possibly more than anypony on the planet, and simply knowing that dealt her a ruinous blow. Like a dam bursting, her emotions spilled forth as she embraced him.

“S…sorry,” she sniffed, running her cheek against his neck.

Pulling back and slipping a forehoof under her chin, he lifted her face. “It’s ok. Just don’t scare me like that again ~ alright?”

Wiping away a tear, she smiled and nodded. “O…ok…”

“For what it’s worth, I offer my most sincere apologies,” Celestia noted, dipping her head to the couple. “For the troubles, please feel free to take the rest of the week off.”

“Thank you, Ma’am, that’s very gracious of you,” Aegis replied, clumsily bowing over to the Princess. Smiling down at Snowy, he motioned to the door. “Want to go get that breakfast?”

Though Snowy wasn’t hungry, she nodded all the same. “I guess…”

She wasn’t really hungry, but spending time in Aegis’ company to unpack everything she’d just gone through would be leagues better than moping around by herself in shell shock. Brushing her frazzled mane away from her face, she trotted around him and to her side. She would have liked to say her morning was terrible, and it was for all intents and purposes, though the payoff had been worth it.

Pressing herself to his side, she kissed his cheek. “Thank you…”

“Hey, don’t mention it,” he chuckled, pecking her crown before turning his attention back to Celestia. “I’ll ensure everything in spick and span by noon, Ma’am.”

“I’m sure you will,” Celestia responded. “Before you two go, there is one last thing I wanted to discuss.”

Snowy looked back as a golden aura surrounded and closed the doors, sealing the chamber while Rain approached. She had a great many things she wanted to say to the kirin, but she didn’t have the energy to do any of it - not now in any case. Holding her ground, she watched as the source of her torment and rapture produced a small vial from thin air.

“I believe this should remedy your situation,” Rain intoned, hovering the bottle over to her.

Knowing what she was looking at, that she was being presented with an elixir that would return her to her original state, Snowy didn’t hesitate when she held up a forehoof. “Keep it.”

Rain quirked a brow and narrowed her eyes. “Are you -”

“Yeah I’m sure,” Snowy softly but firmly stated. “If I ever change my mind, I’ll send word and wait another few months for you to get back with me…”

“In that case, I have an offer for you,” Rain noted. “Given that kirin representation is sorely lacking in Canterlot, and that Celestia has expressed an interest in having you here, perhaps you could act as a dignitary of sorts ~ would that be of interest to you?”

Snowy blinked, unsure if she’d heard correctly. “Does that mean I’d have less work to do?”

“Sadly, no,” Celestia laughed. “It would be more of an honorary title, but I would be more than happy to allow you and your coltfriend to visit the Grove from time to time - of course, you’d have to be escorted by somepony, preferably a capable soldier who bears your best interests in mind…”

“I’d be honored, Ma’am,” Aegis chirped.

“I can handle myself,” Snowy pouted.

“Right,” he snickered, “because a defenseless mare who can’t use her magic is totally fine going out on her own.”

Snowy would have been offended, had his chivalry not made her heart flutter like mad. Pushing herself away from him, she punched his shoulder and trotted for the exit. “Guess that means you’ve gotta keep teaching me how to use it.”

“Thank you again, Ma’am,” Aegis said, giving a final salute to the Princess, “and thank you, Rain Shine.”

“Don’t thank them,” Snowy grouched, smirking over her shoulder at the regal duo, “they’ve gotten enough fun out of this as it is.”

Both Celestia and Rain beamed and waved goodbye as she trotted out with Aegis rushing up to her side. The last few months had been wilder than she could have ever imagined; she’d become a mare, she’d been the target of a sleuthing Princess determined to prove she was some evildoer, and most of the castle’s staff still had no idea what became of Anon, although she’d come away with something she didn’t even know she was looking for - love. Rocking her hips to one side and bumping her butt against Aegis, she giggled to herself.

Looking over at her, Aegis mirrored her amusement. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” she murmured, “just happy to have such an amazing coltfriend…”

Paradigm Shift

by Some Leech

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7