> At Their Service > by Butt > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Those Pretty Ponies... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you first arrived in Equestria, you felt like someone had taken you by the legs, and thrown you into the sky... hard. The sensation was very unpleasant, but the resulting journey left your legs feeling like someone had taken one too many stabs up and down its entire length with a red-hot poking iron. Of course, that coupled with you being thrown into the walls of the Canterlot throne room left you seeing way too many stars, even compared to staring at Luna's mane. Naturally, your sudden arrival, particularly during the presence of the majority of the Day Court petitioners, had sent everypony into a panic. Celestia ordered the guards to haul you away while she and Luna attempted to quell the worries of the panicking ponies. Your blood on the ground, pooling from your grievous impact with the stone wall, did little to help assuage their fear. The guards had to take care in bringing your unconscious body out of the room, lest you woke up and caused more problems for them. When you came to, you found yourself heavily bandaged up in Canterlot castle's infirmary. Considering the beating that you took just arriving in Equestria, the medical staff and the guards both concluded that you weren't a threat... especially since one of your arms was broken, now sitting in a cast. Nonetheless, the captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, had seen fit to assign a sentry to you to keep watch, and it was her face you saw first, when you woke up. The bed was a bit small for your tastes, but it was really comfy—you weren't sure if that was the pain or the soft bedding speaking, but you paid it no mind. Your stirring attracted the guard's notice, and she came over to you, her eyes ice-cold and her facial expression stoic. She double checked that you weren't too uncomfortable and went back to her post, maintaining "operational silence," as you would later learn it was called in the Guard. The incident left you bed-ridden for days. Princess Celestia visited you several times, asking how and why you ended up in Equestria, though you were unable to answer either question. The force with which you entered shattered any notions that you were hostile, as well as a majority of your extremity bone structure, so it was decided that you would stay at the castle instead. Shining Armor soon removed the guard detail, leaving you alone in the infirmary. You were told the wing you were in was very rarely used by the unicorn nurse that came to check on you every few hours or so. Towards the end of your second week without guard supervision, you noticed something different. The windows of the castle were high up on the walls, far out of your reach, but there was a difference in lighting. It would appear that a pegasus had taken interest in you, as he would oftentimes land on the window directly above your bed—due to your casts and injuries, you weren't able to get a good look at the pegasus, but you could definitely tell that the pegasus was watching you. This made you very uncomfortable. You didn't know if you were... ugly, or something similar to ponies, so when the nurse came in the next day you asked her about it. She didn't particularly think you were an eyesore, though you were a sight different from a pony, even more so than a zebra! Due to your rather unique disarmament situation, the medical staff had become rather neutral about you, and were relieved that you had been able to consume greens. After another week in medical, you had finally convinced the unicorn doctor to let you on your feet; the only condition was that the cast stay on for another week, since they couldn't take any chances. The arm felt whole, but you decided to avoid taking chances, too. You weren't a doctor, and although the unicorn was one, he didn't know any better about human physiology than you did, so the choice was unanimous. The pegasus was back now, but didn't resume observation at the window. Rather, the pegasus had visited you directly: she was a mare, and she seemed to be quite enthralled with you, although you had no recollection of ever meeting her... ever. She laughed when you mentioned it, before explaining everything to you. "My name is Aqua Lance. I was the guard assigned to supervise you when you were first brought here, remember?" You nodded in realization as she continued. "I have to admit, when you first showed up the guards were pretty spooked. Ever since the incident with the royal wedding the Captain has had us doing extra training, but none of us had any idea what to do when you showed up. So now the Captain's making us do even more drills," she said, sighing. You took a good look at her while her head was drooped. She had ocean-blue fur, and a dark grey mane that flowed down to her shoulders; her yellow eyes were scrutinizing your form up close. "So... is it standard guard practice to cover yourselves in flour before you go on duty?" you asked her. She let out a few more laughs. "That's just the magic in our armor. It helps keep every guard anonymous, that way others won't be able to identify us when we're off-duty. For us and our families' safety, though the guards are usually kept cooped up here in the castle. We don't get a lot of time outside," she said sadly. "And I guess your unmoving visage while on duty is part of the act, huh?" You sat up in the bed and let your legs dangle over the edge. It had been a while since your legs had moved, and you definitely felt the weakness in them. "Heh, yeah. Part of the whole keeping-your-identity-a-secret thing." You introduce yourself, before continuing on. "Guard life, huh? Does Equestria have a military?" "Nope. The Royal Guard is the only defense force Equestria has, actually." She ruffled her wings a bit. "It's not really wise to attack the alicorns that control the sun and moon, anyways." While you listened to Aqua go on about the workings of the Royal Sisters, you managed to pull on your clothes. The cast made it difficult to pull on your shirt, but everything else had been fine. The clothes had been cleaned since your arrival, and Aqua tilted her head quizzically when she saw you putting them on. "Why are you wearing clothes?" A short lecture later, Aqua was versed as to why humans wore clothes. You only gave her the general details, but enough reasons as to why it was important to keep them on. "Oh. That sounds really inconvenient." "We have to make do, since we don't have fur and all that," you said. A bell rang out throughout the castle. "Oh, dear. I'm sorry to leave you so soon. You're really fun to talk to. Usually it's just me and the other mares." "What are you leaving for?" You got up and start following her. "Would you like to see?" She smiled at you. The barracks were abuzz with noise as the guards changed shifts. Although the armor looked ceremonial, the effects of its magic were obvious: variously colored pegasi and unicorns donned their armor, their fur turning snow white or cloud grey, respectively. There was a distinct lack of earth ponies, but they were better suited for other fields of work; Celestia had explained to you how the various types of ponies channeled their magic, and the few earth ponies serving in the guard were there as heavy hitters. Really heavy hitters, she clarified. Around two dozen or so of the guards shuffled out, while an equally sized group of guards trudged in, their armors clanking loudly against the stone flooring outside the barracks. The morning guard shift had just ended, and it was around time for lunch. The few guards on break took their leave and exited for the mess hall, while you and Aqua followed in behind the morning shift. "Uh..." You tapped Aqua on the shoulder. "Something wrong?" "Are all the guards... mares?" "Most of them. Princess Celestia's always had it that way, ever since she started ruling. There's a few stallions in the ranks, but I don't think you'll be seeing them. They usually elect to go out and supervise one of the cities instead. I don't blame them; being stuck here in the castle is really boring." You took a cautious glance around the barracks. For the most part, every guard shared a communal sleeping area, with wooden bunks lining up either side of the room. There was only a room in the back that was sealed off from the rest of the barracks, presumably the commanding officer's quarters. The other side was a bathroom. Unsurprisingly, this reminded you of the army barracks you saw in Full Metal Jacket, except everything was stone and wood instead of... whatever the U.S. Army made their buildings out of. "And where do you think you're going?" Aqua showed up behind you, as you stood outside the bathroom door. Quickly realizing your mistake, you backed away in a huff before giving a sheepish chuckle. Aqua laughed as a few of the mares that just went off-duty approached the two of you. "Hey, Aqua! I see you brought Celestia's guest here." "Yeah. He's still healing up," she said, looking at you. "I gotta say, you took quite a hit when you showed up. A lot of the guards thought you were dead, at first." The group of mares shared a few giggles among themselves. "I don't think that's really a laughing matter. I almost did get killed," you said, waving your free hand at the cast that encompassed your left arm. Just as Aqua was about to retort, there was a loud series of clanks that hit the floor. Everypony in the barracks turned toward the source of the noise, where two mares were cleaning up their armor that had fallen on the floor. The storage rack they used looked fairly dilapidated. "Wow. That looks..." you began. "Broken? Yeah..." Aqua said. The other mares had gone over to help, while Aqua stayed to talk to you. "Ever since the attack at the Royal Wedding, things have been going downhill. Captain Shining Armor has been run ragged trying to keep everything together, and, well..." She looked over at the officer's quarters. "We used to have a barracks caretaker, here, but she turned out to be... a Changeling." You nodded solemnly. Princess Luna had told you about the thwarted invasion during the Royal Wedding—mind control, shape-shifting... the whole shebang. A security nightmare, for certain. The attack had happened about a month before you arrived, and with your medical stay it was now two months later, more than enough time for things to begin falling apart. "It's a fairly hard task. No pony has offered so far, and with us guards on duty and training..." There was another loud clang. "It's a wonder how the whole place hasn't fallen apart yet. The Captain's been looking for a replacement, but—" "I'll do it," you blurted out. Aqua turned to you, tilting her head as if she didn't hear you correctly. "Huh?" "I'll do it," you repeated. You didn't take yourself to be that much of an organizer, but now was as good a place as any to start. They needed the help, and you had to pay off your debt to Celestia's hospitality, as well as the other ponies here. She would probably wave it off, but you knew better. You're a hard-working human, after all. Aqua looked at your arm. "Are you sure? I mean, that cast..." "The doc said it should be off by the end of the week. I'll begin work in earnest, then." "Well, if you say so. Let's go find the Captain." Shining Armor was actually relieved to find that you wanted to volunteer. Apparently, it had been a whole different kind of hell trying to search for somepony who actually wanted the job; no one wanted to do it! Celestia had several candidates in mind, but Shining was just happy that you volunteered, and since you were a human, the background checks were fairly swift. Changelings could only disguise themselves as four-legged beings, which made sense since the dragons and griffons also walked with four legs. Humans weren't on the list, especially since you were the only known human in the world. After a brief spell to make sure no odd magics were on you, you were formally instated as the Royal Guard's new barracks caretaker. The officer's quarters in the back were yours, and they came with their own private bathroom. A convenient feature, given the gender of the ponies you were bunking with. Being the barracks caretaker meant that you had to take stock of everything there: from the bunks to the equipment, even the bathroom, though Aqua covered for you when you were inside inspecting it. There were plenty of things that needed fixing in there, and you used your one free arm to note everything on the portfolio that was left behind... apparently whatever the Changeling was doing here was intentional; notes about destroying or misplacing equipment on purpose, covering up problem spots—you were certain if a handyman were here, he'd charge at least a thousand dollars to fix it all! You sighed as you closed the portfolio. And this was just for your quarters and the bathrooms alone, as there was no telling how much damage was caused in the main barracks. At least the Changeling had bothered to keep her quarters (well, your quarters now) in good condition: the bed was far larger than a usual pony bed, for some reason, but you didn't complain. It fit you just perfectly, with room to spare. Your quarters had a nice open view of the Canterlot courtyard, looking down on it from the second floor. From your vantage point, you could see the Royal Sisters enjoying some afternoon tea, as well as various attendants bustling to and forth from the castle itself to keep the Sisters accommodated. A knock from the door breaks you out of your sightseeing, as Aqua entered your room. "Hey there. Got anything done?" she asked. You shook your head. "It's horrible, Aqua. Just—I've never seen anything so bad in my life! Look." You opened the portfolio to the notes the Changeling had taken, easily over four pages worth of documentation regarding the destruction of Royal Guard property. "All of that. And that's just for the bathroom." Aqua's expression changed from concern to horror as she looked over the notes. "I—we used those! I can't believe—oh, sweet Celestia. Just... just take it back," she says as she hands you the portfolio, putting a hoof over her mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick." "I'll talk to Shining Armor about this. As of now, the bathroom is off limits. Please spread the word to the other guards about this. If they want an explanation..." "I'll try to make it as obscure as possible," she bluntly stated. *** The next few weeks were spent identifying solutions to the problems in the bathroom. It seemed like most of the things were intentionally broken by the Changeling, but there was also minor secondary damage, probably due to negligence. Shining Armor was appalled to hear about all the damage the Changeling had caused: apparently, she came across as a reliable mare. You told him that it wasn't that big of a deal, and the damage could easily be reversed. However, it was in the best interests for the Guard to fix the bathroom as soon as possible, so now here you were, supervising a few repair ponies. Even Princess Celestia had seen fit to visit you. She had heard the news from Shining Armor, and was pleasantly surprised that you had volunteered to take over the position of caretaker. With your extensive notes on the state of the barracks, Celestia had brought in extra help to finish up the repairs in record time, bringing everything back up to standards within the month. During the reconstruction, you had gotten to know the Royal Guards a bit better, since you saw them all the time when they were on duty, and true to the magic, you weren't able to tell them apart. Which, of course, earned you the laughter of various mares when they visited you during their off-time and had you play the guessing game over who you met with clues and teasing. It was an excellent conversation starter, but the mares always went off on their own tangents; you could tell they'd been starved for somepony to talk to, especially since they were on the castle grounds all the time. On top of your caretaker duties, you also found work in the cafeteria's kitchen: the variety of things you could whip up, even if it was wholly vegetarian, surprised even the most seasoned chefs on the staff. You didn't have access to a lot of the spices present in the human world, but good old salt and pepper made up for it. Salsa was pretty big among them. Mostly, though, it was you just tossing together things that sounded like they belonged together, and it worked. You didn't complain, and you made sure to remember how to make the various dishes that the ponies now adored, sharing the recipes with the chefs. It was a slow day today, and the head chefs had shoo'ed you out of the kitchen for lunch break, eager to try their own hooves at the recipes you had made a few days earlier. You sat at a cafeteria table by yourself, before you see a tray suddenly land next to you. Aqua takes a seat next to you as you finish consuming your cucumbers. She, like most of the castle staff, had taken a liking to your exotic take on Equestrian fare to the point of eschewing the normal menu normally dictated by the nobility, since the chefs also served them, in favor of your creations. "How's it going, chief?" she asked. "I guess I have to start calling you that now." You gave her a confused stare as you chewed your food. She looked at you in surprise. "You don't know? Well, this should explain everything. Here," she said, handing you a wooden case, roughly the size of a shoe box. It seemed fairly mundane, and contained only a simple brass latch on the front of it. Was it a gift? You put down your fork for a minute and opened the box. Inside rested a pants and shirt combo, trimmed with white, with the seal of the Royal Guard rested squarely on left side of the shirt. The material felt light and breathable, while the pants were made from a durable material that felt rough enough to withstand a scuffle. On top of both of them rested a small pin, a shield with Celestia's sun in the center of it, imposed on top of a pair of pegasi wings. Your eyes widened in realization. "Welcome to the Guard!" Aqua patted you on the back, as a few more of the off-duty mares joined you at the table. You had stopped chewing in surprise, and simply took the pin in your fingers and looked at it. This certainly was interesting... did you just get drafted? The other mares clapped their hooves together as congratulations for you. "You're the chief officer of the barracks now. The Captain is impressed with how you handled it all, and in such a timely fashion, too. I think even the Princesses are impressed with your work. Of course, your rank doesn't really mean much in the rest of the Guard, but the Captain thought it would be nice to reward you somehow." You finished the food in your mouth and swallowed. "So does this mean I have to do drills with you all now?" you asked. The mares exchanged glances and conversed a bit; it seemed that none of them knew the answer. Shining Armor didn't specify whether you were to join the guards on their drills with your new-found rank, and you wondered what kind of drills ponies did: push-ups seemed kind of odd for a pony to do, since they were on all fours all the time... sit-ups wouldn't work, either. You suspected that it consisted mainly of running for endurance building and specialized exercises for the unicorns and pegasi. Where would you even fit in? "I see you accepted the offer," you heard a familiar voice come from behind you, and turning around, you see the sender: Captain Shining Armor himself. He smiled a grin at you as he trotted up to your table. The mares gave him a brief salute before they returned to their food and chatting, with the exception of Aqua, who faced Shining Armor alongside you. "Captain, does the chief here have to participate in our training sessions?" she asked. Shining put a hoof to his chin. "I'm not so sure that would be wise. You aren't capable of flight or magic, so I think you just might get in the way. I do, however, expect you to be wearing the uniform from now on. Have to keep up the professional look, after all. Your rank actually has one more responsibility to it than just barracks caretaking, but Princess Celestia will explain that to you in due time." You salute the standard military salute. "Yes, sir." "No need to salute me, 'Chief.' I'm kind of glad you got a nickname. Your human name doesn't exactly roll off a pony tongue, unfortunately." You didn't mind getting a nickname. Actually, you had wondered why it took you this long to get one, since the mares had expressed on more than one occasion just how strange your name sounded. At least it wasn't something worse, that was for certain. There could have been a variety of nasty nicknames for you, especially since you were a foreigner, an alien, in Equestria. Shining Armor bid you all a good afternoon and left to return to Princess Cadence, leaving you and the mares to finish your meals, although the expression on their faces showed that something significant had just happened... was it pertaining to what the Captain said? "Er, Aqua? Is something wrong?" you asked. She immediately looked at you, eyes as wide as a deer's in headlights. "Hmm? Nothing, nothing at all." The other mares nodded their heads in agreement, albeit a bit too eagerly. They were obviously in on it, too. "Does it have something to do with that additional 'responsibility' Shining Armor was talking about?" you asked, pressing the issue. Aqua's eyes shifted around before she returned to you with an answer. "It does, actually. But if Princess Celestia is going to explain it to you, who are we to tell?" The mares nodded again, this time in solemn agreement. Further attempts at trying to get an answer were only met with the "you'll see" response. Just what was it with this responsibility that required that it remain top secret? “Well… I suppose I can let you know a little,” she eventually said, after your repeated prodding. “You’ve been here a while now, and you’ve settled in well enough. Do you find mares attractive?” You nearly choked on your drink, but you figured that if it was important to this little secret, you might as well answer. That, and being friendly enough with all the mares meant that they would be willing to hear things out if what you said was taken the wrong way. “If I’m being honest with myself, yes,” you said with a nod. “You’re all easy on the eyes, and you get used to it eventually.” A few of the mares had caught you staring at their flanks on more than one occasion, and you knew they were prone to gossip. Being stuck here only reinforced the sexual frustration that stemmed from the lack of privacy, frustration that had you focusing on the fact that you constantly interacted with the opposite sex. Aqua didn’t know—or perhaps she did—but you didn’t say any more. “Then trust me when I say that you might not be entirely unreceptive to this responsibility.” Aqua hummed to herself as she collected her tray. “And that’s all I can tell you. Good day, chief.” She continued humming to herself as she left, and you noticed a greater bounce in her step. You were only notified of your staring at Aqua’s buttocks when another one of the mares cleared her throat. Looking back, you blushed and found it better to focus on the minute details of your fork as you heard the other mares giggle. At this point, you had a fairly good idea of what to expect of this responsibility, but there wasn’t a chance that anything like that would be considered an official duty… right? You rose up from your bed, enjoying the morning shine of Celestia's sun cutting through the curtains in your room and hoping today would fare well. The day before had not been great: Princess Luna, with some help from Princess Celestia, had finally managed to find a spell to send you home. The problem, though, was that your method of leaving Equestria would be similar in fashion to the way you entered it. That is, at high velocity. On top of that, since Princess Luna had no knowledge of Earth, the spell could theoretically drop you off—or above—anywhere in the world randomly. You remembered that seventy percent of Earth was covered in water, and frankly... the trip was just too risky. So in Equestria you stayed. And today was your birthday. You barely remembered mentioning it ever since you came to Equestria; the only instance was to Shining Armor, in one of the many chats you had with him on a weekly basis, reporting to him and generally being one of the "guy friends" that he had. The entirety of the guard was made of mares, and Prince Blueblood wasn't much of a conversationalist either, despite Shining Armor's connection to Princess Cadence. The other instance was to Aqua, though you wondered if she remembered, or if Equestrian culture had any event based around a birthday. You hadn't seen any pony celebrate their birthday once since you arrived, with the exception of the Royal Sisters, although that probably had more to do with the fact that, like the Royal Guard, you were kept within the confines of the castle. Maybe the Royal Sisters' importance meant they were the only ones who celebrated birthdays? You didn't put too much stock into it. It had only been a few months since you arrived, and you didn't want to push the envelope when it came to customs. Every pony in the castle had been incredibly accepting of you, with the exception of Prince Blueblood—whose pompous demeanor was standard for a stallion like him, Aqua had informed you. The guards were your best friends, with the chefs being a close second: they enjoyed being around you, even if it was to just idly laze around and just talk. It was during one of these sessions with Aqua that you learned a little more about why most of the mares became guards. There was no conscription: all of them had volunteered for the job. Aqua herself came from a long line of guardsmares, going several generations, as far as Nightmare Moon's banishment, and a bit before that. Most of the other mares had similar stories as well, stating that Celestia was very picky about which ponies ended up in the Royal Guard, and very rarely accepted new lineages. Of course, from what Aqua said, the job is very boring and pays decently well, but there wasn't much else to do, with them being restricted to castle grounds, other than talking and reading books. And that led to your current daily "lounging" time, as they call it. At first, the lounging had consisted of conversation items like your past, the nature of the being that is you, and where you came from, though you left out the unsavory bits of human culture. They, in turn, regaled you with stories about their youth, their pony types, and the various cities they came from. Cloudsdale was the one that fascinated you the most, since cities made of clouds weren't exactly common on Earth, and you managed to catch sight of the city once or twice from Canterlot's vantage point. You returned to the barracks from your lunch break; a simple garden salad had satiated your appetite this day, and you found a few magical theory books written by a pony named Twilight Sparkle you wanted to read. Her vocabulary was really hard to understand, but you couldn't help but read the book. Magic was an intriguing and mysterious field of study, after all, and before you arrived in Equestria, you'd simply thought it a myth. So with the books under your arm, you returned to Aqua to engage in another bout of conversation with the usual group. Today, though, when you entered the barracks, you noticed that the layout had changed. Most of the beds had been moved aside to create a large clearing in the center of the barracks, where a large fluffy mattress had been laid out. It was easily the size of five beds, probably more, and the mares were laying about it, chatting or reading books. You met eyes with Aqua, and she smiled at you. As the door clacked, closing behind you, Aqua motioned for two of the mares to get up. They ran over to the door and... bolted it locked? Okay, something weird was going on today. The other mares cleared off the giant mattress while Aqua approached you, a strange movement in her gait as she trotted to you. "Hey there, chief. We've been waiting for you." She motions for you to sit on the mattress, and you complied. "Is there something wrong, Aqua?" you asked, feeling your face growing ever warmer as you noticed their swaying walks. The other mares were now gathered in a circle around the mattress, making you feel very uncomfortable as you realized the smiles on their faces were a bit too enthusiastic... "Has Princess Celestia told you about your other responsibility yet?" She trailed a hoof around your chest in a circle, looking at you with expectant eyes. Oh, gosh, was she trying to court you? You always knew that Equestria was a matriarchal society... they couldn't possibly be...? "No?" she continued. "Well, I guess we'll have to tell you ourselves..." Your busy mind's questions were answered as Aqua pushed her lips onto yours, eyes closed. Her forehooves pushed you down onto the mattress, her tongue cautiously making its way into your mouth. She was making out with you, right here in front of the other guards! "So it looks like Her Majesty hasn't," Aqua said pulling away from your mouth, a line of drool connecting her mouth to yours. "Oh, well... consider this your birthday present," she said, smirking at you. "A great big thank-you from all of us here." A few of the unicorn mares had taken the liberty of gently stripping you of your clothes in a swift few seconds, and now you laid on the bed as naked as the day you were born, except for the fact that your certain special part had been rising, in no small part due to Aqua's initiative. “Whoa, whoa, hold on a moment. This is what you were talking about?” you asked, covering your manhood with a pillow grabbed from the piles around you. True, it was flattering to be surrounded by mares—mares you’ve taken a liking to recently—who were willing to get it on with you, but you imagined that the surprise would be less… numerous. Perhaps just Aqua, or a handful, but to have the whole unit? “Yes. Is this… not okay?” You laughed, but the shock left you wide-eyed, an expression that caused a stir among the mares as you looked between them. “I mean—I am just at a complete loss of words for this.” You buried your face in your hands as you shouted into your palms. Only when you felt like you had shouted out all of your surprise did you look to Aqua. “This is my responsibility—and birthday present? I have to do all of you?” Aqua blinked. “Yes.” “Well… I can’t say I didn’t see this coming,” you said. So much for being a joke, now you got to have the pick of the whole unit. Truly the greatest responsibility placed before you if you’d ever seen one. You removed the pillow and sat back. “Give me your best shot, Aqua.” "My, eager to get started, are we? Well, a good mare shouldn't keep her stallion waiting." Aqua batted her eyelids as she moved to straddle you. A few of the other mares followed suit, sitting down on the mattress and curiously examining your manhood. Your attention is drawn back to Aqua as you felt a warm sensation surrounding said manhood. Aqua had both of her forehooves placed on your chest, eyes closed and panting heavily as you slid inside her. Looking down at where you two joined, you see that Aqua's folds have swallowed you all the way to the base, and you could feel resistance meeting your tip as you felt your body tingle. "How is it, Aqua?" one of the unicorns chimed up. "So... oh, Celestia, it feels so great bareback..." Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she finished the sentence. "I'm sure you're wanting a bit of explanation, right?" One of the unicorn mares was now eye-to-eye with you, although her face was upside-down from your viewpoint. You felt Aqua start moving again, sending shivers of pleasure down your spine. "Every mare has something called an estrus cycle. To put it bluntly, we have periods of heat where our body forces us to copulate," she said while waving a hoof at Aqua. Of course, Aqua was now picking up the pace and the pleasure you were feeling was making it hard to listen to the unicorn, but you soldiered on anyways, not wanting to disappoint Aqua as the unicorn continued. "Since you're not a pony, it makes it very convenient for us, you see. We can enjoy ourselves since we don't have to worry about getting pregnant. You're a very nice stallion, and we've all discussed this beforehand... we hope that you'll help us satisfy our urges," she said, before planting a kiss on your forehead. You grinned sheepishly at the gesture. "I'm sure I can... accommodate... all of you girls..." you managed. You were fairly acquainted with all the mares in the barracks now, and pony appeal had began rubbing off on you since long before this moment; teasing looks, toned flanks and swishy tails were about one of the most flamboyant ways to arouse, you learned, and you realized now why they'd toned it up in the past few days. In any case, you certainly didn't mind obliging their request. Her returned mischievous smile accompanied her growingly sultry voice. "I'm glad to hear that, chief, but I'm sure your attention should be on a different mare..." She moved out of the way so you and Aqua could finish together. Aqua smiled that naughty smile of hers as she looked down at you, eyes half-lidded, before she drew closer and laid down on your chest, her head on your left shoulder. She exhaled cute moans and heavy breaths right next to your ears, making you that much more horny and driving you crazy. Her wings expanded into the air as her passion rose, and you trailed your hands down along them, eliciting a shudder from her as you continued your rhythms. You drifted your hands southward, grabbing her buttocks and guiding her with them, thrusting harder and eliciting a loud moan from her. From your vantage point, you could see a few of the other mares stare in awe as you continued to grind into Aqua, some of them with hooves over their mouths. These hands of yours were the coup de grâce, capable of doing many things that ponies could only imagine of doing... among others. You intensified your exploration, touching her, feeling every part of her body, with her sudden rises in volume letting you know that you were hitting all of her sweet spots. The light of the afternoon bled through the windows and reflected off of Aqua's blue coat, slick with sweat. You could feel her forehooves reach around your neck, bringing you closer into her embrace as she kissed you deeply again. Her lips were brought away as she was caught short; you gently brushed your hands down her spine, slowly dragging it right across the point where her wings connected with her body. You felt her entire body tense before she quickly rebounded and dove straight in for another kiss. Her tongue roamed your mouth as you could feel her hold on your lower half clench up in response to the sensual stimulation, and you caught the taste of sweet mint on her saliva—had she been preparing for this? You took your right hand—the left busy tending to her hindquarters—and ran it through her mane, steadily increasing the rate at which you were pumping into her until you could feel her inner warmth bear down on you in full force. Your grunting breaths reached a breaking point as your attempt to warn her of your impending orgasm simply exited your mouth as a series of low, incoherent babbles cut off by your restrained moan. You saw stars as you released yourself within Aqua, and the scream she let out as she collapsed on your chest was proof of your effort to please her. Aqua fumbled as she stood up, her legs shaking, and instead decided to slowly roll off, moving herself off of you. You could see the slick of your seed covering the majority of her crotch, and she fell over on her side with a satisfied sigh, before looking at you with a faint smile on her face. "That's quite a thing you got there, chief," she panted. "But it's not over yet..." As she said this, three of the unicorn mares approached you and enveloped you with a field of multi-colored magic. You could feel strength pour into you and your stamina slowly recuperating... and your sexual drive amplified ten-fold, as your member quickly made itself erect again, and the sight of luscious flanks quickly overwhelmed your mind. The unicorn mare who explained everything to you earlier, who you now recognize as Scarlet Spark, approached you and laid you back down on the mattress much like Aqua did, but with a gentle hoof. The other two unicorn mares, Red Rhapsody and Sunbreeze, took positions over your head and behind Scarlet, respectively. The trio were a perfect mix of various shades of red, and it almost looked like you were making love to the sunset itself. They said nothing as they assumed their positions, and you understood what they wanted. You began licking Rhapsody's marehood, which prompted an innocent gasp from her—she was fairly young compared to the rest of the guards, and this would be her first time doing this. Sunbreeze and Scarlet were among the older guards, generally acting as the 'sister' type to ease new guards into their lives... and into the solutions on how to cope with estrus. Just like they were doing now. You felt a tingling sensation on your chest, which you assumed was Sunbreeze giving your bare chest a lick, before you felt a pair of hooves guide your hand to a mare's vagina and noticing her husky voice moan—yep, that's definitely Sunbreeze. You began fingering her while using your free hand to spread Rhapsody's lower lips and moved deeper into her with your tongue, weaving it in, out, and all around as you pushed her rear closer to your face. Scarlet was the oldest of the three, and obviously showed some confidence with the smile she had on her face as she lowered herself onto your spear. You could feel resistance, just like you did with Aqua, as you penetrated deeper into her, but the sharp gasp she let out betrayed that confidence—without a doubt, none of these mares had been with a stallion—so you hopefully assumed—before, and that both humbled and honored you to both take their virginity, as well as satisfying their urges. You're the luckiest stallion in Equestria! The three gave out their own unique moans as you pushed deeper into them. Rhapsody tasted slightly tart, and her scent was overwhelmingly that of flowers. Her cute red butt eclipsed your view of the other two, but you wouldn't have it any other way, content in the fact that you were pleasing all three at once. You could see out of the corner of your eye the red-orange hooves of Sunbreeze stroke her clitoris as your fingers drilled into her; you had started with two, and now you were on three, and increasing the pace to match her steadily rising frequency of held-back moans. Scarlet had fallen into a rhythm of alternating between fast and slow movement: short strokes while moving quickly, then raising herself to the point where your penis would exit her, slowly... but never pulling out. The feeling was incredible, and served very well to keep you on the breaking point, but always just short of the point to push you over. The carmine mare was very learned in the hows of sexual technique, that was for certain; unicorns tended to be a bit more knowledgeable than their winged and strength-bearing counterparts. You were slightly worried about the fact that there were earth ponies that would undoubtedly be in estrus, as well. They'd have a phenomenal amount of endurance, and that coupled with their guard training made you wince to think about satisfying them. They were still out on guard duty at the moment, which was a temporary blessing to you. Still though, pleasuring a group of some of the most accomplished fighters, fliers and casters of Equestria was something that made your mind go kaput. Sunbreeze had completely collapsed onto your arm now, savoring the sensation of your fingers digging into her. You could sense a dull glow come from her horn, an orange hue slightly brighter than her coat color surrounding her appendage. Scarlet and Rhapsody also had similar glows around their horns, and you took that as a cue to move faster to bring them all to the point of climax. A bunch of faint hissing and popping could be heard as you brought the mares to orgasm, before a loud pop rang out and the room was illuminated with various hues of red and orange, if only for a few seconds. Rhapsody came so hard that your face was covered in her juices, before she fell over to your side. Noticing your soaked face, she quickly moved toward you and began cleaning your face with her tongue, giggling as she did so. All the while, you could feel an abnormal amount of seed pump into Scarlet. No doubt something to do with the spell they cast on you, you thought. The contractions of her wall forced every last drop out of you, and you were rather surprised that she didn't scream, but then again, Scarlet was never really the loud type. She bit her lower lip out of pleasure, before slowly sliding off of your rod, a trail of white liquid dripping out of her vagina. Sunbreeze merely continued laying on your arm, eyes closed as she collected her breath. "You certainly know how to please a mare..." Rhapsody said, smiling at you. "Those hands of yours are really awesome!" Sunbreeze said, pecking you on the cheek. "And you certainly aren't lacking down here," Scarlet said, as she prodded your penis with a hoof. It was still rock hard, even after filling her up. You finally realize that the other mares had moved closer, almost uncomfortably so as they gazed at your hands and your penis with desire. The three you had just satisfied moved off, and a few more moved to take their place as the unicorns made sure the stamina spell casted on you was still in effect. It was going to be a long day... And a long day it was; you had finally managed to get into your room and slump onto your bed. These athletic mares could get downright horny at a moment's notice for multiple rounds, and although you had satisfied Aqua and the rest of the night guard, there was still the matter of the day guard... which consisted of just as many mares as the night guard and the dreaded earth ponies. They had to blast you with that stamina spell six times to keep you going through all of them, but now it was done, and the mares had returned to normal. You, however, felt like you had been run through a wringer, and definitely needed the rest. A few days sounded good to you. No one would notice that you were gone. A knock on the door startled you, but the rest of your body was too sore to move. "Door's unlocked," you hoarsely shouted, and Aqua entered your office, closing the door behind her. "Hey there, chief. Sorry you had to go through all that... we promise that we'll go easier on you next time." You barely nodded, your neck muscles screaming with soreness. But you wanted to at least be presentable to her, so you struggled to sit up, and began rubbing your sore muscles as you continued to listen to her. "Usually when our heat periods come around, we have to weather through it without any help from anypony else," she explained. "There is medication for it, but... it's kind of expensive, so a lot of us trained ourselves to resist the urge while we're on duty and relieving it when we're not. But when you showed up, and then volunteered for caretaking duties... Princess Celestia saw an opportunity. I hope you don't hold a grudge against her... or us." "It's not a problem, Aqua," you reassured her. And it wasn't. Only in your dreams would a group of females propose the idea of an orgy to you, but here you got a whole week's worth of it condensed into a single day. If anything, you wanted to thank her for allowing you to share in such an awesome experience, which you do. "I... have to thank you for letting me do this... one thing I can cross off my bucket list... and you're all beautiful mares..." you ended, wiggling your eyebrows at her. She blushed. "I'm... glad you're taking it well. Usually if a stallion has to deal with this, they... well, let's just say they try to run away, or hide. The Captain was never really one to help us out with our urges, and I can understand that. He's really by-the-book, and he didn't really want to take advantage of us, especially since he's married now. But you," she said, trailing closer to you and placing a gentle hoof on your knee. "You took this duty to heart, just like everything else you've done. For the Guard. For me." All of a sudden, she brings her face close to yours and locked your lips into a kiss. This wasn't the same kiss that you shared before; it was sweet, gentle, and loving. You brought your arms around her and held her closer as she did the same with her forehooves, extending the kiss for just several more seconds before breaking away. "And besides," she said with a glint in her eyes. "Everypony around here knows that you belong to me." "I belong to you now, do I?" you amusedly asked. You rubbed the back of her neck and feel her tense up, then relax as she recognized your massaging. "And I belong to you, right?" Her voice carries a hint of worry. You again ran your hand through her mane and kiss her on the muzzle. "This has been the strangest way anyone has ever asked me out," you said, laughing at her flustered expression. She shared your enthusiasm, laughing with you before nuzzling you on the neck. "I've had my eye on you for a while, you know. A lot of the other mares are kind of jealous of me for being so close to you," she admitted. "But you're the spitting image of a stallion every mare wants. You're kind, and generous... by Celestia, you even volunteered for Blueblood's catering! Nopony wants to do that, even with the pay, but you did it anyways out of goodwill! I swear, you're too nice for your own good." You simply chuckled and nodded. That catering service... though the food was great, the event was a disaster—another one of Blueblood's ill-fated attempts at impressing the aristocracy. A unicorn chap by the name of Fancy Pants sent his regards to you, though - apparently Blueblood usually ended up ordering catering from out-of-town, and the food wouldn't have been fresh. Fancy Pants and his companion, Fleur de Lis, certainly enjoyed your unique take on the typical daffodil sandwich, at least. "Anyways, the heat's over for now. I think I speak for everypony in the Guard when I say that... you're really good in bed," she said, giving you a wink. "A few of the mares are still having after-heat problems, so you should probably expect a few to ask you for some help... others might just approach you looking for a quick fix," she contnued nonchalantly. "I know Rhapsody has her eyes on you, and Sunbreeze keeps glancing at your hands whenever you're around. Not sure about Scarlet, though... she's really hard to read. But, yeah, just telling you to expect something soon!" You sighed, groaning as you massaged an arm, the soreness reminding you of your need of some time off. "Do I really have to...?" "Oh... totally forgot about that, haha. Well, I'll tell the rest of the mares to keep away for a while. You look like you're in some serious pain," she said, rubbing a hoof on your arm. "Get well soon, okay, chief?" She smiled appreciatively at you before leaving your room, the last of her that you see being her beautiful eyes. A faint 'clack' followed as she closed the door and left you alone in your quarters. You made a lazy attempt at removing your uniform and toss it onto the bedside chair before you covered yourself and drifted off to sleep. You dreamt of a very pretty pegasus that night. > Chapter 2: Turning the Heat Up > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Standing in the Canterlot gardens, you realized that the castle grounds extended a lot further than you thought. Today, there was no day court, which also meant that the gates to the castle would be closed. You were finally going to be able to wander around outside! But, the furthest extent of "outside" you got was the Royal Guard training field and the courtyard of the castle... not much to look at. You nodded sharply at various guards on your way out, keeping up the charade of formality and rank. You knew who all the guards were, at this point... but with their armor on, and their emotionless faces, it was hard to tell when they were on duty. You laughed silently to yourself, knowing that you had placed a hand on each of their buttocks at some point a few months ago, when they were in their heat. Still, it was nice knowing that these mares were true to their duty. It was interesting, refreshing even, to find those assigned a task diligently carrying out their charge. In the human world, how high you could get on the workplace ladder was based on how well you could deflect responsibility to others. You appreciated ponies for that, even the aristocracy to a point; none of them were as unpleasant as some individuals you had met back home, except maybe Blueblood. The garden statues were spaced quite a distance from each other, but in symmetrical pattern to match the wide, spacious grass fields of the garden. There was a hedge maze on the far side of the expanse, but you decided it was probably a better idea not to get lost and have the guards search for you. You appreciated the few fountains that dotted the garden, reminding you of a simpler time with the idyllic splashing of water. The statues themselves were... unique, for lack of a better term. Most of the statues were of famous ponies, like Star Swirl the Bearded, or of heroes, none of which you were familiar with. Celestia had her grand golden statue in the banquet hall, while Luna had hers next to the large pond in the garden - probably for the reflection of the night sky. There was one statue, however, that caught your eye—a draconequus, as you remembered the books calling it. The Elements of Harmony had sealed him away months ago, before you arrived, and, boy, was he one ugly— "Who goes there?!" you heard a voice shout. Looking up, you saw a pegasus guard approaching you. "I'm just patrolling the grounds," you threw out. "Leave that to me, sir." She emphasized the last word with vitriol. "I am perfectly capable of performing my duty without having an unnotified addition to my patrol." Oh, Celestia, was she one of the newer guards that rotated into the shifts in recent months? Wait, when was there a new recruit? All of the guards boarded in the barracks; you'd be one of the first to know if there was a new recruit! Then again, Shining Armor didn't really tell you much anyways... "If you do insist on patrolling, you can join me as I finish the last path," she huffed. She began to trot for a fairly secluded treeline, surrounded with untrimmed bushes. The bushes looked nice with the trees, which was why they probably weren't trimmed like every other plant in the garden. The ponies were strangely specific about their preferences like that. The guard walked into the bushes, making a loud rustling sound with you in tow. You walked a ways into the copse, before coming across a clearing surrounded by trees, the guard standing in the center. She looked around, probably "doing her duty," as she put it, while you leaned up against a tree and waited for her to finish observing the immediate brush-enclosed area. Aqua was right: guard duty was pretty boring... She turned to leave, and you moved to follow, but just as you did so, she charged straight into you and ended up knocking both of you down, her hooves pinning your arms to the ground. She eyed you suspiciously for a minute, giving you a death glare that would kill a pony, and you felt the air around you grow deathly cold as she drifted her face closer to yours. What was with this guard?! And who the hell was she, anyway?! Your thoughts were cut short as the guard kissed you softly, her lips tenderly touching upon yours, eyes closed. You could see the bright red blush that spread across her face as she started to become more forceful with her kiss. You weren't sure if ponies had it in them to... sexually force themselves onto another, but this gave you more than enough reason to reconsider your initial thoughts. The guard drew back, looking down at you, but not with the hostility she had before. She was stifling a laugh, and her restraint soon failed as she bursted into full-on guffawing, wiping a tear from her eye with a hoof. Seeing your confused expression, she moved off of you and gave you a chance to lean on your elbows. "I can't believe you fell for that, chief!" It was Aqua. Of course. "How in the world did you—" "Magic, remember?" She tapped a plated hoof on her chest armor. "That's how I changed my voice, and I'm also sure that's what you were thinking." She winked at you. "I'm sorry, it's just that you told me that you couldn't tell us apart, and... I wanted to tease you a bit." "I hope that's not all you're planning on doing," you said as you trailed a finger at the spot where her cutie mark would be, if she had her armor off. You can feel her muscles reacting to the sensation, tensing up as you drew your finger in a circle on her hind quarters. "I-I can't, chief. Not while I'm on duty..." The blush on her face deepened. "Aren't you almost done with your patrol? And I don't remember you being on the day shift..." You nibbled on her ear, and she rewarded you with a breath laugh. "Ah, hah... you caught me." She tilted her head up to look at you. "I guess I can't stop with teasing now, can I?" You responded with a kiss, this time more passionate than ever before. Knowing it was Aqua, and in her armor... having sex with her in uniform was actually a very enthralling idea. Convenient how the golden guard armor leaves a gap between plating for their tail to go through, and it was more than enough to penetrate Aqua. "Oh, Celestia, we're actually going to do it, aren't we? This is so hot," Aqua whispered. She turned around and lifted her tail, exposing her marehood to you once again as you brought yourself around, ready to mount her. You rose to her challenging smirk, and slowly slid into her. "Ah... it feels so different like this..." You remained silent as you savored the feeling, letting her marehood slowly absorb your dick down to the hilt. Maybe it had to do with the magic of the armor, but her muscles were... more pronounced, stronger in many ways, including the walls of her tunnel. She was tighter than you were accustomed to, but you moved a bit back and forth inside her to steel yourself and letting you acclimate to the new sensations. "Ah! Wait, stop right there," Aqua said, just as you hit her deepest parts. "My, I think you're bigger than usual today... I guess that's because I'm a naughty guard, aren't I?" She moved her rear left and right, giving your manhood an incredible sensation as she dragged them along and then sharply pushed towards you, bumping her rear into your crotch. As she stopped moving, you remained stock still—any further movement and you might have let it loose a bit too early for your liking. Alas, you were forced to endure as Aqua flipped herself around, putting you two face-to-face. She smiled gently at you, her magically-changed sky blue eyes gazing into your heart. It suddenly struck you how lucky you were to end up in Equestria, to meet all these ponies, and share experiences with them... and to meet Aqua Lance, your first friend and now, your girlfriend. She wrapped her forehooves around your neck and kissed your nape deeply. You kept your eyes open as she did so, enjoying the streak of red across her muzzle as you returned her act, the brilliant white of her coat contrasting sharply with the deep crimson shades across her face. You took off her helmet and rubbed your cheeks against her neck, enjoying the smell of her perfume. The armor was enchanted in more ways than one, and the Royal Guard had to remain presentable at all times due to their prevalence in the courts and public outings. She smelled sweet, with a hint of flowers, and you took a nip of her neck to see if the smell translated to taste, and you were right: she was sweating, but it wasn’t unpleasant. She tasted like honey. She gave out a gasp and a moan, then leaned into your ministrations as you rubbed the palms of your hands against the base of her wings. You cradled the sensitive appendage with your hands, and rubbed up and down its length. Aqua shuddered and melted into your arms, and you enclosed her in a hug and kissed her on the forehead. The warmth between your legs was very welcome, and Aqua slowed her movements to give you both a breather. You came close to losing control when she was going full drive, but you managed to tough it through, though the act left you boiling under the surface. However, when you looked at her face, you saw disappointment. She tucked her hooves in front of her and leaned into your shoulders, pouting. “I came when you rubbed my wings,” she said. You brushed her mane, colored blue from the enchantments. “Why didn’t you release? I was giving one-hundred and ten percent there, and it still isn’t enough?” “Are you kidding? We just got here maybe fifteen minutes ago, Aqua. Let’s enjoy this a bit more.” You tapped a finger on her snout, before moving your hands to her fluffy butt and giving it a squeeze. “Well, if you say so. I just hope there aren’t actually any patrols through here,” she muttered, but unable to hold back a smile as you rubbed her flanks. “Wait, are you saying that you didn’t check the schedule? What if—” “You have thirty seconds to show yourselves! Keep your heads low, or we’ll slam you with magic!” The shout from beyond the foliage startled the both of you, and she scrambled for her helmet while you tried to button up your pants. Luckily, you managed to close it up just as Aqua awkwardly fitted the helmet on her head. Not even a second later, three guards emerged from the bushes, and the center guard, a unicorn, walked forward. “So, the human is cavorting about with one of the guards, hmm?” She circled you, appraising you with a critical eye while Aqua stood at attention. You stood rigidly, making sure not to turn your head or make any movements, but you managed to peek at the insignia on the collar of the guard’s armor. She was a lieutenant. Great. “So, one of you mind telling me why you were both screaming loud enough to hear all the way from the entrance to the maze?” the lieutenant asked. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see one of her subordinates stuck with a scrunchy face, trying to stifle a laugh. You didn’t know which one of the mares she was, but you frowned just enough for her to notice. The lieutenant, busy berating Aqua for her “fooling around on the job”, noticed the change in your face and whirled around to the other two guards. “You’re both in on this, aren’t you?” She put a hoof on the scruchy-faced guard’s chestplate and pushed her away. “Fine. I want the both of you to continue on your assigned patrol paths, and if I see so much as a single hoof out of line, you two will be in kitchen duty for the next month!” With that, the two subordinates smartly saluted and exited back out into the royal gardens, leaving the three of you alone. The lieutenant sighed, and turned back to face both you and Aqua. Your legs were starting to tingle from how straight you kept them, but you knew you couldn’t move, lest you attracted the ire of your superior. She frowned, and sized you up before glaring at Aqua. “You two. My office. Now.” Chairs were a strange thing in Equestria. Some ponies elected to sit on cushions, while others claimed that the backrests for chairs did wonders for their spines. The lieutenant’s office, fortunately, had the former for you to sit on. Aqua had to remain standing next to you, stripped of her armor. The lieutenant’s office was in the opposite wing from the barracks, across the courtyard that your own room was situated above. Almost all of the officers resided in this wing, with the exception of Shining Armor, who resided with Princess Cadance in their own estate away from the castle. The Guard as a whole was divided into several units, and each of these units was led by a lieutenant… much like the one in front of you now. It didn’t occur to you until today that you had no idea which lieutenant was in charge of your barracks, and by extension, you and Aqua. Unfortunately, you were introduced to said lieutenant in one of the worst ways possible, and now it came around to bite you in the rear. “I hope you both realize that fornicating during the day hours is not one of your greatest ideas,” she said with a grimace. “Honestly, what in the world were you thinking? The royal gardens are a public facility! Anypony could have just walked straight in there and heard you two doing the deed!” Both you and Aqua lowered your heads in shame, not wanting to meet the lieutenant’s gaze. “We have no excuses, ma’am,” you began. “Although, it was technically Corporal Lance’s fault.” “I—what?” she sputtered. “Hey, you’re just as guilty of this as me!” “Hey, I was helpless! You pinned me to the ground, and then you came on to me that hard? What was I supposed to do, toss you aside? You’re the trained guard here, not me!” “Now listen here, mister—” Aqua looked like she was ready to pounce on your face. “Enough!” The lieutenant slammed a hoof into her desk, sending a thud reverberating throughout the room, which was replaced with silence. She brushed back her mane and took a deep breath. “Do you two honestly think that deflecting the responsibility here is going to change anything? Both of you are at fault here, and you will be reprimanded accordingly.” “Yes, ma’am,” you and Aqua said meekly in unison. “Now, as for you, Corporal Lance...” The lieutenant shuffled through some schedules laying on the desk, meticulously seeking the pages with large amounts of red ink scribbled across them. “Ah, here we are. You’re in latrine duty for the next month.” “I—yes, ma’am.” Aqua held a tight jaw, and you could see that she was none too happy about getting stuck with cleaning the toilets. Fortunately, you had renovated the bathroom a few weeks before, so it wouldn’t be too much to clean, or at least you hoped so. You didn’t know what went on in there. “And as for you, human...” she ruffled through her papers once again, before she halted in realization that she had none on you. “I’ll consult with the Captain about your punishment. Don’t think that you’re off the hook yet.” “Yes, ma’am,” you said, and you saw the corner of her lip tilt higher. Whether or not it was in amusement or irritation was unclear. “Right, then. I’m sure you need to be on your way to check on the barracks, so I’ll be accompanying you.” The lieutenant got out of her chair and pointed to the Aqua’s armor sitting in the corner. “And you, Corporal Lance, will store your armor in the barracks before grabbing the cleaning supplies. The latrines better be spotless by the time I get back!” With no further word, Aqua took her armor with her hooves and flew out of the room, leaving you alone with your superior. She took off her helmet and exhaled, rubbing the bridge of her snout with a hoof. You could see that her armor, compared to the guards you usually worked with, was more ornate and had several more plates on it for protection. Captain Shining Armor’s didn’t have as much protection when you saw him head off to the Day Court. Was it ceremonial? “When they told me there was a strange creature holed up in Canterlot now, I didn’t exactly expect it to be a talking monkey.” Her voice, although it held an air of authority, didn’t exactly do wonders to ease the cut of her insult. “Sorry to disappoint, ma’am,” you blurted out. Your face froze when you realized that you just sassed your commanding officer. If she caught your jibe, she didn’t show it. “Well, you did a good enough job with the barracks. That means you’re okay in my book... or at least, you were. The Captain’s told me some good things about you, so I think I’ll run this by him first.” She placed the helmet back on her head, before patting down some of the armor plates to dislodge any stuck parts. “Well, let’s get to the barracks then. I want to see what you’ve done to spruce up the place.” You quickly walked out behind her, and noticed one of the guards close the door to her office. The guard met eyes with you briefly, and you knew that she was one of the guards in your unit. She turned her eyes forward again, and you dashed after the lieutenant to catch up with her, as she was already walking down the steps into the courtyard. “Sorry, I didn’t exactly get your name, ma’am,” you said between breaths. You contemplated participating in the training sessions to help get in shape. “The name’s Lieutenant Emberspark, although you can refer to me as ‘ma’am’, or ‘Lieutenant’,” she said with pride. “Well, if you don’t mind me asking, I noticed your office was really empty. Any reason behind that, ma’am?” You moved out of the way of an approaching guard column from a different unit, giving a lingering glance as they were occupied with their marching songs. It would be a pleasure to see if your unit trained in the same way, and you made it a note to visit them during their drills one day. “I transferred here from Trottingham. Spent a year after introductory training leading a squad, until they moved me out. Spent five years out there before they called me in to switch places with the current unit lieutenant. Seems that she’s got family out in Trottingham, and wanted to be closer.” You said nothing else as you reached the barracks, and Emberspark pushed the doors open with magic to find the off-duty mares of your unit enjoying some downtime. The doors swung open with enough force to send a loud thud through the room, and all the mares turned to look at the commotion. “Officer in the hall!” a voice rang out from the back of the room as the mares clambered into position in front of their beds. A wave of hooves flew up in unison as they all saluted. All of the free time that you had recently made you forget that you were serving in the Equestrian military, not some bed and breakfast. You knew better than to say anything, and remained by the door as Emberspark began walking slowly down the center of the room, looking at each guard as she passed them. “So this is the rabble I’m in charge of now, hmm?” She gave every guard in the room the stink-eye. You felt bad for them; now because of you and Aqua, the entire unit was getting the hammer dropped on them. “You have duties to attend to, get to it! You want the chief to keep doing all your work for you? Celestia damn well knows that half of you have armor that needs polishing in the armory. And Sunbreeze!” The mare stopped dead cold at the mention of her name, and Emberspark torturously sauntered over to her from across the room. “I heard you accidentally knocked down one of the statues in the main hall. Is that true?” “Uh… y-yes, ma’am,” Sunbreeze nervously said. Concern filled your thoughts, and you considered speaking to her about Emberspark later. Had they always known about the lieutenant? How did they go so long without ever mentioning to you that they had a banshee for a commanding officer? “The staff are still busy cleaning up your mess,” she said. “I hope you won’t leave them there to put it all back together now? Those things are antiques, and worth more than what you make in an entire month. Now move it!” Sunbreeze galloped past you—though she did manage to bump her face into your hand on the way out—and shut the door quietly. Now it was only you and Emberspark in the barracks now. She looked at you, as if daring you to say anything about what just happened before your eyes. Being a smart man, you didn’t utter a single word, instead following her when she nodded her head towards your quarters. Time for your verbal lashing. You entered the room without Emberspark uttering a single word, letting her check the entire space from top to bottom. She looked at you several times during the whole process, eventually finding herself under your bed as she judged it for cleanliness. “So, ‘chief’, I guess you’re not half-bad at being the barracks caretaker.” She withdrew her head from underneath and glares at you. “But you’re still no Royal Guard. Can’t believe they actually went so far as to give you an honorary title. I don’t consider you a Royal Guard.” You flinched as you heard the door slam shut behind you, along with the click of the lock. Oh, for fuck’s sake… what the hell was she onto now? “And that’s for the best,” she said, tossing off her helmet and hastily undoing the armor, all the while picking you off the ground and tossing you into your bed. “Please forgive me, it’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to properly relieve myself.” She joined you on the bed, straddling your chest as she looked down into your eyes with desperation. Your mouth dropped as you stared at her in shock. Emberspark was in heat. “Why didn’t you just tell me that you were in heat?” you asked her. “Why would I?!” she nearly shouted. “I’m the new officer, everypony here is giving me such a cold shoulder! The unit doesn’t have any respect for me. I have to be tough, because if I don’t, then they’ll just…” She swallowed hard, and you took the time to admire her palette. Her coat was bright, like the embers of a flame, but her mane was dyed a fiery red in tandem with streaks of white. It was also long and flowing, like a noble’s, but completely natural whereas the ladies of Canterlot’s high society went through tons of work to make their hair look like that. “They’ll just blow me off.” “You have to give them more of a chance,” you said. You wrapped your arms around her back, and she shivered in response. “You know, I didn’t even know you existed until today. Just give it a chance. Try to connect with them.” You kissed the bottom of her neck, and she moaned with bliss as her body dropped flat onto yours. Your pants grew damp with her juices, and you felt yourself hardening at her enthusiasm. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she whispered into your ear. “But I heard through the grapevine that you… the mares in my unit were so happy that they finally had a way to quell their estrus without the use of medicine. And they said they had you! I mean, you’re not that bad looking—sorry for that monkey bit back there, by the way—and you’re just so… so strapping in that uniform of yours… b-but it’s not that I like how you look really hot in that. You just look really professional, like what a Guard should be.” You chuckled. “Of course, ma’am. Er, Lieutenant.” “Just call me Ember,” she replied, a soft whisper laden with the undertone of lust. “And as your commanding officer, ‘chief’... fuck me until I can’t see straight.” The zipper came undone and you felt her magic pull your clothes off in one smooth motion. “I… oh…” Her eyes were glued to your dick, grinding against the back of her cheeks. “Oh, Celestia… yes…” She felt like she was on fire, and your crotch grew damp with her leaking juices. You took her by the waist, running your hands through her teats and lifted her off. You smiled at her, scooting back and sitting up against the mountain of pillows behind you—a little addition you wanted to have in case any of your mares wanted some private time with you in your room—letting her form bounce on your lap before you eased yourself into her. “Ohhhhhh, sweet Celestia, yesssssssss,” she moaned unabashedly. You felt your dick shiver in the full length of her pussy as she took you to the hilt. Your frustration from your time with Aqua earlier began to surface, but you held it back; if anyone here was going to finish first, it would be Ember. “Oh… why didn’t I come to you sooner…?” “I wonder,” you said, giving her a quick peck on her nose before holding her head in your hands. She looked up at you, not even aware of the contact, eyes closed as she bit her lip and gave a low, throaty moan. She began to open her eyes right as you brought her closer, and she gasped in surprise when you kissed her. “Mmm?!” Her surprise quickly gave way to bliss, and she melted into your arms as you started to pound into her. The juices squelched naughtily as she wrapped her hooves around you and went full french with the kiss. Oh, she was good at this, and you responded by inverting your positions, taking special care to caress her ears—something that the mares really loved—as you sat her down on the pillows. The two of you eventually broke away from the kiss, a line of spittle connecting your lips as you hovered close to her face. She looked at you nervously, your nose catching her sweet breaths as she panted, waiting for your next move. Well, if she wasn’t going to take the lead, then you were, and Celestia willing, you would obey her orders right down to the letter. Whereas Aqua’s body was normally dry during her bouts with you, in no small part due to her pegasus nature, Ember was sweating a lot more than you thought she would. Either the estrus was really doing a number on her body, or this was normally a unicorn thing; you noticed some of the other unicorn mares in the barracks subjected to the same perspiration, yet even still, they were nowhere near as bad as Ember. “Sorry for the, uh, sweating,” Ember said with a strained laugh. Her horn glowed for a moment and a tiny pop followed, accompanied by a small shower of orange sparks. “Yeah, it does that. My estrus is really…” She inhaled sharply and gulped. “...demanding. Y-you don’t have to do anythin—huh?!” Her body tensed as you darted forward and took the length of her horn into your mouth, and she screamed with a passion that you hoped to only increase over the course of your lovemaking session. Her voice devolved into gibberish, a combination of her futile attempts to voice her pleasure to you, and her own moans overriding them. The pace grew to a still as you began to tease her further, and she whinnied in protest as you begin to achingly drive into her at a maddening crawl. “N-no! Do it harder! F-faster! Please!” You felt her clench down on you, and the signs spoke that she was close, but you weren’t done with her yet. The need to toy with her—if only just a moment longer—overrode your need to pour yourself out into her, and the thought that she was the leader of the unit, your immediate superior, only fanned the flames of wanting to make her scream her need for you. “Together,” you managed to say, giving a playful lick of her horn. You slapped her on the flank and elicit from her a surprised gasp, only for your next thrust, the head of your length poking into her pussy, to go all-in. You groaned in unison she hugged you tightly, your hands pulling her body up and down as you began the final stretch, and the urge to cum inside her became too unbearable. Ember screamed, and you unleashed your seed inside of her, still nipping away at her neck as she finally begins to calm down. You smiled as she began to laugh, a tired sound but with relief, and she gave her thanks with a nuzzle of her neck with all smiles. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you…” “It was a bit… quick,” you said. And it was, just a simple good rut to get the jitters out of the mare. The intimacy normally came afterwards, once the wanting for each other’s bodies began. “But I suppose it was great for you, hmm?” “More than great,” she replied lazily. She looked into your eyes with a dreamy expression, still all smiles but with a smirk that spoke of a mare who knew she wanted more. “It was amazing. I’ll have you any day, handsome…” “And I’ll have you any day, too, beautiful,” you said, and your heads bowed to each other, where her horn touched your forehead until you realized that the tip oozed with a translucent fluid, colored a faded orange much like Ember’s coat. “Uh…” You smiled at her and wiggled your eyebrows at her horn. “Oh! I… uh…” She gave you an awkward smile and raised a hoof to try to clean it off. You preempted her with a hand grabbing her hoof and took her horn into your mouth, sucking on it like a popsicle. “Ah! I… mmm… no… s-stop…” Her magical juices tasted fiery, just like you expected from a mare named like herself, but it was also tangy and sweet. The taste was addicting, and you sucked harder on her horn to get more of the little treat for getting her off. “Hey, chief, what are you—” Your eyes go wide as you realized who the voice came from, and Ember seemed to have noticed, too, though she looked over with half-lidded eyes to the new guest now standing at the open door. The door that was locked, and one that the newest arrival opened with a spare key that you gave to her. Aqua stood dumbstruck, mouth ajar as she stared at you and Ember, both naked and sweating, together in bed. And you had Ember’s horn in your mouth, tongue stuck poking out of your mouth like taking it to a frozen pole on a winter day. “Sorry for interrupting,” Aqua said. She turned around, face empty of expression like a robot, and slowly closed the door behind her as she left. Your mind screamed at you to follow her, and you thought it was a pretty good idea. “Ember, sweetheart, I’m going to have to end our little tryst for today,” you said. She didn’t say anything, and nodded once to give her permission. As you began to slap on your clothes again, she took to your pillows and began to doze, her eyes still completely glued to your ass even as she nodded off. You parted ways with a kiss to her cheek, and then you left to find Aqua. The search didn’t take long. Aqua sat dejectedly at her bunk as you entered the barracks, her back towards you and helmet sitting on the nightstand next to her. You crept towards her, your reflexes on edge as you expected her to retaliate somehow; a revenge lovemaking session, you assumed, but nothing ever came. She just sat there, and you ended up sitting right next to her. “You did it with Lieutenant Emberspark,” she noted. “Uh… yeah.” You tried to hide the awkwardness in your voice. “And I had to go clean the bathroom. While the two of you fucked.” Well, the jig was up. “Yeah…” was all you managed. “I thought…” Her voice cracked, and she allowed herself a short sob. “I don’t know…” She wiped away a stray tear with the back of her hoof. “It’s your job. It’s your job to do this for us, to keep all of us from going mad from our lust, but…” She looked at you, and your heart broke at the sight of her, looking so lost as if she beheld a stranger in her eyes. “Chief, you… I thought it was just going to be just you and me… together… and you… and her…” “Aqua, I—” You wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, and her wing extended to touch your shoulder. She put a hoof on your mouth and stared at you for the longest moment, a moment you didn’t dare break in fear of what she would do. “No,” she finally said. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Princess Celestia said it was your duty to take care of all of us, and that includes Lieutenant Emberspark. I… I don’t know why I’m like this. You helped every mare in the barracks with their estrus, and I was completely fine with that, even joined in the fun, and then she comes along and I…” She gulped, nervously scratching at her throat, and shook her head. “I shouldn’t be like this.” “You have every right to be angry,” you said. “When I did it with the other girls, it was an agreement that you all shared, and we all did it in sight of each other. With Ember… well, she was a bit forward in that regard. I should have asked you first.” “Yeah…” She returned to staring at the tiles on the ground, only stirring when the sound of a door opening caught the attention from the both of you. Sunbreeze returned, panting with exertion as she looked at the two of you and smiled. “Hey, there, lovebirds. Getting a little bit of fun while everyone’s gone, huh?” she said, trotting over and nuzzling you. Her nose dragged across the cloth of your shoulder, and she breathed in deep. “Ah, how I love the way you smell, chief… I think I’m getting turned on again…” “Sunbreeze…” Aqua frowned at her. “Now is not the time.” “Okay, okay…” Sunbreeze giggled, sauntering her way over to her own bed on the other side of the barracks, swinging her shapely flanks as she went. And what nice flanks they were, up until Aqua jarred your head back to her and then you were staring at a beautiful, beautiful mare’s face. “Hey, pervert, over here,” she said, clearly showing her annoyance as she paused to let out a sigh and calm herself down. “So, okay, fine. I’m willing to look over the fact that you fucked the lieutenant… but only if you promise me that it’ll just be us alone tonight. And I want you to make me scream.” You laughed, and kissed her on the cheek. “Of course, Aqua,” you purred into her ear, blowing softly on it. It twitched as you began to see the traces of a blush on her cheeks. “I’ll do anything you want.” “Oh, you… well, we could do it in your room, but it seems you’ve already let a mare take my spot…” Though her tone was playful, the disappointment remained. You brought her into a hug, resting your chin on top of her head. “Was it nice, at least?” A painful smile spread across your face, though with your position on Aqua’s head, she wasn’t able to see it. “I’m… not really sure what to say to that. I mean, compared to all the other mares, she’s just—” “Was she better than me?” “Oh, hell no. You’re still my number one mare, without a doubt. And I’m going to make you feel like a number one mare later, I promise you that.” You threw a glance over to Sunbreeze, who was patting down the sheets of her bed to make them silky smooth for inspection. “Well, Sunbreeze is here… I suppose if you’re willing, we could—” The door opened and the room was fully occupied again. As the mares conversed with each other, you and Aqua merely greeted them with nervous smiles as they continued about their business unaware. As the mood gravitated away from the somberness, you decided to shelve the issue for now, when Aqua was on one of her off-days and you could speak to her at length about it. “Say…” you said, and Aqua shifted around so that she sat on your lap, with your chin still mixed into her mane. She smelled of sweat and the faint odor of cleaning supplies. A pair of hooves grasped onto the arms wrapped around her. “Are you sure you want to be touching me with that?” “What do you mean?” she asked. “I mean… well, I’ve got feet, and my feet have shoes. Those are on the ground, but my actual feet are never actually touching the ground. My hands are no problem since I don’t walk on them, but…” You withdraw your arms and wipe them on the sides of your coat, and she looked up at you with a raised brow. “You ponies walk on your hooves. And you just came back from a dirty, dirty bathroom and touched me with them.” “I…” She stopped, and looked at her hooves. “You know, I don’t think anyone has ever brought that up before. Like, seriously, never. I mean, it’s sort of just given how we’re used to being on all four, all the time, that we don’t even think about what we do with them. We just sort of… do it.” You grimaced in disgust. “Well, that’s gross. I can’t believe I let you girls touch my dick without asking you to wash your hooves. You could have gotten me sick or… worse. And by worse, I mean bad things happening to my dick. And I don’t think anyone in this room wants that to happen, hmm?” “Yeah, yeah, germs and all that. I could lay down some ground rules with the girls so that they’ll always have their hooves squeaky clean when they get their turns,” she said, hopping off the bed and batting your face with her tail. You caught a good sight of her delectable pussy, and you thought of just bending her over and doing her right there, with every eye upon you. “I see you looking,” she said, and you looked back up to find her with a smug grin. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your little moment with Lieutenant Emberspark. You better be ready to work that fine flank of yours until I’m satisfied.” You nodded and give her a smack on the butt, which got you a yelp. The other mares giggled as Aqua blushed and then glared at you. “Oh, I won’t forget,” you said. “I sure hope so. Because I’m bringing along some other mares to have some fun with you, too.” Her grin only grew wider. You looked around to see the other mares whispering to each other with knowing smiles and they again giggled. Not at her this time, but at you. Aqua had something new in store for you. “Why do I get the feeling that this surprise is going to be more than I can handle…?” you asked with a nervous smile. Out of the corner of your eye, you could spy a crack in your room’s doorway, and a curious bright eye peering through it. Upon noticing you looking back, the door quietly shut. “Oh, it won’t be anything you can’t handle, not with some gratuitous application of stamina-enhancing magic…” She grabbed her helmet off the nightstand, and was fully-dressed in the time it took for you to blink. That training certainly worked its wonders, especially with those hips that swayed as she walked away from you. “Hope you aren’t planning on getting sleep tonight.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” you asked, raising your arms. You looked to the mares closest to you, only to receive sultry smiles and blown kisses. Was estrus season already rolling around again? You’d only just finished attending to them all! “Oh, nothing. But let’s just say that your services have been noted by… more important ponies,” Aqua said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve duties to attend to. See you later tonight, chief.” It was your turn to act flustered now, and you remained fixated on the back of Aqua’s head as she left the barracks. The only solace that greeted you afterwards was Emberspark exiting your quarters when she thought no one noticed, only to find the entire room clamoring to position yet again. Her armor was in pristine condition, and her appearance gave none the wiser to the heated passion that had occurred between the both of you. She cleared her throat. “I’ve… um, finished up the inspection of your chief’s room. Thankfully, he’s nowhere near as incompetent as the rest of you are, and he’s been…” Her voice croaked and she stopped to clear her voice. “...thorough with his arguments to let you all off easy. So I’ll let you all know, just this once: Captain Armor is having a formerly-a-surprise armor inspection this weekend. I want you all to have them in tip-top shape when he comes by, am I understood?” “Ma’am, yes, ma’am!” came the replies. “Good. Dismissed.” The mares let out a sigh of relief and returned to their bunks to laze about, but you noticed Scarlet drilling into you from across the room with a stink-eye—and not just you, but also Lieutenant Emberspark. It appeared that some ponies were privy to your ‘discussion’ with her, as the good lieutenant had several stupid smirks following her march, culminating with you meeting eyes with Red Rhapsody once she’d left the room. “Oh, sweet Celestia,” Rhapsody said. In the blink of an eye, she bounded over the room’s centerpiece table and jumped onto your bed. “You fucked her, didn’t you?! I could just smell it reeling off of her as she passed by me—she was in estrus, and you gave her a good fuck!” And then you found her nuzzling your neck, taking in a deep breath of your scent. “Do me next.” “No way, he locked eyes with me first!” shouted Scarlet, who appeared next to you and pushed Rhapsody away. “Seniority first. I’ve been here longer than you have, which means in this situation, I go first!” “Ladies,” you interrupted. “It’s fine. I’ll be able to attend to both of you in due time, okay?” Rhapsody rolled her eyes and sighed, while Scarlet stared at you with a cold gaze, as if her own force of will would be able to sway you to her side. She could be stubborn like that. “I’m sorry, Scarlet, but Rhapsody asked first. I promise I’ll make it worth your while, okay?” “Okay,” Scarlet said, turning away. “And because you’re our chief, I should let you know: when Aqua said that you wouldn’t get any sleep tonight and that your services have been noticed by higher ponies… well, you should take that as literally as you can.” With that, she flicked her tail in defiance at Rhapsody and walked away. “Yay!” Rhapsody squealed. A rough hoof pushed itself onto your crotch, and you tilted your head to meet her kiss. Her tongue danced with yours, and her exuberance only left you wanting her more. By the time you broke the embrace between your lips, you were already carrying her to your quarters, passing through the doors with a tired sigh and one happy unicorn to please. It was going to be a long day... > Chapter 3: A Little Test > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A week later, you stood outside the door to one of the inner chambers of the Canterlot palace, normally reserved for private gatherings. The lack of guards in the hallway unnerved you. Usually there would be a few guards on patrol tonight, but… nothing. The silence only served to further your unease until it was broken by the sound of the door opening as you entered. You entered into a dimly lit room with cushions surrounding a low table in the center. Awash in pink, the room’s stained glass windows portrayed a horizon at dusk, where the trees and grass hugged against the great sun as it gave way to night. You took the time to admire the the work as you found your seat, and you were soon drumming your fingers on the table as you awaited your guests. Aqua had been tight-lipped on your surprise. No amount of begging or persuading budged her from secrecy, not even the romantic gestures and nice little gifts you got for her in the days leading up to your meeting. When the day arrived, you showered, put on your freshly-pressed uniform, and after a kiss on the cheek from Aqua, now you were here… in a random meeting room, one of many in the castle. You ended up stretching yourself over the empty tabletop as you groaned in boredom, reaching your arms over with a restrained grunt as you attempted to wrap your fingers around the opposite end of the table. Success was near, but your arms snapped back to your sides when you heard the sounds of hoofsteps nearing the door. In a heartbeat, you checked yourself over for anything out of place and folded your arms neatly across the table. The door opened to reveal a pair of shining guards—literally so, as they seemed to glimmer with a magic you weren’t familiar with. They parted as they entered, bowing their heads as a pink alicorn stepped in, who immediately locked eyes with you and flashed a smile. The butterflies in your stomach danced in your gut as Princess Cadance, the Princess of Love, sat down across from you. She looked to her guards and nodded, and the two left, closing the door behind them. “Hello, ‘chief’,” she began, giggling at your pet name in your unit. “I’m Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can just call me Cadance. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” “The… honor is all mine… Cadance,” you said, almost saying ‘pleasure’ before you caught yourself. The word, in your activities, had a different connotation, and one that you assumed that Cadance knew all too well. Her warm countenance never faded, and her smile left you perturbed. You returned with a feeble smile of your own, more a stretching of your facial skin than a genuine expression. “So, I’m sure you were informed of this meeting last week, is that correct?” she asked. What courage you conjured only faltered as you ended up staring at the dreamy colors of her mane as you replied, “Yes… that’s correct.” You gulped away the uncomfortable sensation in your throat, and your mouth felt dry. “With all due respect, Your Highness, I… understand what you’re trying to do here, but I’m not sure that your husband would approve of this.” “Huh?” Cadance’s smile disappeared, and she tilted her head in concern. “What do you mean? I’m not—oh. Oh!” Now it was her turn to look away, a small blush forming on her cheeks as she laughed. Not an awkward one, but one made in realization of a simple revelation. “Oh, you think the whole purpose of this meeting is to… well, quell my desires, right?” “I… yeah. You mean it isn’t?” “Of course not!” She paused, holding up a hoof as she struggled to cease her laughing. “Oh, I’m flattered that you’d think that way, this meeting is for a discussion, not for… that sort of business. Today’s business does relate to the act of intimate love, however, and I assure you, as the Princess of Love, I have been feeling quite a bit of love originating from your barracks in particular, chief.” “You can, uh… you can sense that?” “Uh, yeah—Princess of Love? Everything to do with love is in my domain, and from what my husband tells me, you’ve been involved in this affair for quite a while now, haven’t you?” She lowered her head and flashed you a mischievous grin. “Not that it’s a secret in the Guard, of course. I hear the other units are just dying for a piece of you.” “Uh, yeah… no dying, please, thank you very much.” “You joker, you,” she said. “Now, the only reason why this meeting hasn’t actually started yet, is because we’re still waiting on another guest. It’s a bit strange of her to be running late. She’s always been punctual to meetings.” “And would this guest be the intended target for my act of recreational procreation?” “No,” came the reply. “There will be no sex whatsoever during this meeting.” Her lips curled into that strange scrunch-pout expression that ponies were so fond of, and she snickered. “I never thought I would say something like that.” “Well, I’m sure you never thought you’d meet an alien, either. Never mind the fact that the method that brought me here nearly killed me, but you get the point.” With the mood less imposing, you found yourself finally able to look at her in the eyes. Tales of her beauty when the mares spoke of her were the truth when it came to her. “You’re quite attractive for a mare,” you said. “Thank you,” she said, bowing her head in gratitude. “And you’re not bad yourself, for a human. Were I unwed, I would take you in a ladylike fashion. But, of course, we’ve both already found our special someponies. Aside from your marefriend, the mares in your barracks hold you in high regard.” You raised a brow at her. “I certainly hope that they mean that I’m a fantastic model of professionalism and not an incredible estrus-relieving lover who doesn’t have qualms about going at it all night compared to the average stallion.” You blinked, and then added, “Although that last part might be partly my fault. But those ladies can be relentless when they want something, and whenever we’re together, it just happens to be me. Not that I’m complaining, of course.” “I understand. But it is important to cultivate a relationship beyond physical interaction, no matter how intimate it might be.” The doors opened with a clack again, and the newest arrival strode in and took her seat without a word. “Ah, Princess Luna. Thank you for joining us. Shall we begin?” “Yes,” Luna replied. She regarded you with a cool eye, looking about your features with a blank expression as she sat down. “Hmm. While I understand that the mares may find your features appealing, I must admit that I do not share the same opinion.” “Please, Princess,” Cadance said. “If the problems that you’re having are as bad as you say, then I’m sure that he’s the best choice we have. His performance with the mares in his barracks has been beyond exceptional, and with absolutely no repercussions. With him, the Night Guard may finally have the relief that they’ve been looking for.” “The Night Guard?” you asked. Luna’s ears twitched in thought, and you turned to Cadance for an answer. “You mean Princess Luna’s Night Guard?” You knew little of them, despite it being, much like Luna herself to Celestia, the sister organization to the standard Royal Guard. Aqua or the other mares rarely mentioned them, if at all. Cadance nodded. “Yes. The Night Guard are exclusively batponies, but beyond their appearance, are very much like pegasi. The problem is due to the Night Guard’s secrecy: Princess Luna has been reluctant to bring in external aid to help them deal with their estrus problems. We’ve used medicine, magic, even stallions, but they were all ineffective solutions at best. We think you might be the answer to that problem.” “Not to mention the side effects that have arisen following the other solutions,” Luna said. “Malaise and other bodily issues, a returning lust that appears only mere minutes after coitus, and the inability of stallions that we’ve requested to deal with the problems. Our biological imperative to reproduce is simply too stubborn to curb, so we must appease the mares’ needs in the basest sense, and that is what you excel at.” You blinked and then looked between them with a dry expression and a curled lip, eventually settling on Cadance. “Now it’s my turn to be in wonder at something I never thought I would say: that I am being called upon to serve society due to my ability to please the opposite sex. I’ll have you know that this could be construed as a bragging right amongst men, where I come from.” “Then it is good to hear that there is no hesitation on your part,” Luna replied. She motioned with a hoof to a door on the far side of the room, one that hadn’t been there before. You chalked it up to magic. “Go forth and fulfill your duty. Within, you shall find the Captain of my Night Guard, Eclipse.” Princess Luna left through the door you entered through, leaving you alone with Cadance. Figuring it was better to resolve this sooner rather than later, you stood up and made for the door, only hearing her encouraging words as you entered. “Good luck, chief. I know you’re just the man to make her scream.” The laugh you managed to catch in your throat, but you couldn’t stop smiling as you felt heat rising to your cheeks—as the Princess of Love, it wasn’t beyond her station to say something like that, but damn if it didn’t sound absolutely cheesy. As you reached the door, you looked over your shoulder to find she had left the room, catching the ends of her swirly tail as the door closed behind her. Calming yourself, you placed a hand on the door handle. The butterflies inside you were kicking at your innards now, and you wished Aqua was here to lend you aid, if not to hear her calming voice. You steadied yourself and stepped through, only realizing too late that you’d strolled straight into a wall of blinding white light. “I, uh… huh?” You looked behind to find the portal you entered through already closing, and you sighed in relief when you realized that you weren’t in mortal danger. You turned your attention to where you stood now, realizing that it was a bedroom. The space was extravagant, the sort you always remembered seeing in those high-class vacation ads with pristine bungalows and luxurious hideaways in the mountains. The first thing you saw was the window: it had a spanning view of Canterlot castle, and from what you saw, the evidence indicated that you were within Princess Luna’s tower, where her Night Guard dwelled with her. “Hey, handsome, over here,” you heard a husky voice call to you. You turned away from the window and caught the sight of the rest of the room: lots of ornate furniture gilded with a steel as bright as the moon itself, walls painted in the deep night blue that Luna was so fond of… and a large bed in the middle of it all, where a pony laid, watching you with hungry golden eyes. Her deep purple mane and tail were adorned with streaks of lavender, and her coat was near black. If you didn’t know better—and if she had a horn—you might have mistaken her for Nightmare Moon, based upon Aqua’s description. “And you must be Eclipse.” “Mmm, dropping the formalities already?” she said, giggling as she bared you her fangs. Your nervous smile dropped when she smiled at you, dragging her tongue over them. “Well, ‘chief’, I already know all about you. Princess Luna said that you might be the solution to all of the problems we’ve been having… and I’m here to be the judge of that.” Before you could voice your response, she was already off the bed, hovering in the air as she circled you. A low whistle played with your ears as she floated behind you, giving a lingering glance on your buttocks. “Hmm, not bad, not bad…” she said. “You’re no stallion… but I hear you’re better than one.” “Yeah, I—” you began, until she was again before you and brought herself up to meet you at eye level. Her eyes were different compared to the regular pony, with thin slits for irises, her ears were fluffier and more pronounced, and her appearance was complete with the signature bat wings. You hoped that her fangs didn’t imply a diet that involved a particular kind of sustenance. “Hmm…” she hummed to herself, wrapping her arms around you and taking in a deep breath of your scent. “Oh, that’s nice… you smell very nice. Kind of like honey.” “...I get that a lot.” And it was true—the ponies found your scent pleasing, though you never spent any extra effort beyond being hygienic with your showers, some of which were taken with Aqua. “And you smell nice, too. Like flowers.” “I was told I would be in the presence of somepony…” Her hoof circled around on your chest, and she looked to you with a mischievous smile. “...able-bodied, so I decided I should make myself presentable.” You gasped as her hoof rubbed against your crotch, smiling with glee when she stroked your bulge. “Oh, yes… very able-bodied.” “I hope I don’t disappoint,” you said. Unbeknownst to her, you reached behind her and glided your fingers down the arch of her back, massaging the joints right where her wings joined to her body. She shivered, and dragged you by the cloth of your sleeve as she guided the two of you to the bed, tail swishing with anticipation. You blushed as you caught the sight of her pussy, and as you looked up, she gazed knowingly at you. Your other hand was already at work unbuckling your belt, a deft routine you’d become familiar with when you were pounced upon in your return to the barracks; the other hand was normally already servicing a mare. By the time you reached the bed, your pants were already dropped, and you fumbled to pull your shoes and socks off as Eclipse landed gently on the bed. “Oh… my…” Eclipse remained slack-jawed as she took in the sight of your dick. She crouched down low, raising her rear into the air as her tail flipped over, revealing her pussy in all of its glory, dripping with juices as her tail swished with impatience. “I’m all yours, chief. Show me what you can do with that—ah!” You plunged yourself straight into her before she could finish, thrusting away as her surprise devolved into pleasure. Her hooves pushed deep into the blanket she sat atop of, and her moans fanned the flames of your lust. Hot to the touch, her coat melded to the grip of your hands, and you felt the horniest you’d been in a long time, though you were unsure whether magic was the cause of it. “Oh - no - you - don’t,” Eclipse managed between gasps. With a hard flap of her wings, she lifted her rear up in the air as your dick exited her pussy with a slick squelch, and you got a faceful of her wonderful marehood as her legs locked around your neck. A twist and a grunt later, you were sprawled on the bed with her, and she wasted no time straddling you as her hooves went to work pulling off your coat at record speed as you unbuttoned it. “Quite the forward one, aren’t you?” you said with a laugh. She sensually bit her lip as your coat came undone, and she wasted no time in pulling the rest of your clothes off. “Only when I’m in the mood for a good rutting,” she purred in your ear, glued to your body as she inhaled another deep breath of your scent. You attempted to sit upright, only for a forceful hoof to knock you back down. “Oh, no, you don’t. When Princess Luna told me I’d get to have my own plaything for today, I didn’t realize it would be from somepony so willing, and by her name, I will not let this chance go to waste.” Her assertiveness was intoxicating—never before had a mare been so taken with being the dominant one, and you found yourself willing to play along to her games. “I’m a plaything now, am I?” you whispered, blowing into her ear and closing in for a quick nibble when she moaned. You sharply gasped as you felt a sharp prick on your shoulder, looking down to see Eclipse with half-lidded eyes grazing the tips of her fangs against your skin. She withdrew, pausing only to give a lick to the skin now tingly to your touch, and ascended up the length of your neck with kisses. “You’re my plaything, little pet. Now be a good boy, and fuck me hard.” Her tail brushed against your leg, and she slid herself down on you while letting out a scream that pierced your skull. While the window wasn’t open, you hoped the room was soundproofed—Eclipse was already turning out to be quite the howler. “Oh, sweet Celestia, yes!” she said through gritted teeth. “Sweet, sweet satisfaction, after so long! You ready for this, chief? I am going to enjoy every moment of this, and every moment hereon if you pass my little test.” You slapped her on the butt, reveling in the bounce of the cheeks as she began to work her thighs. “I can go through dozens of mares when they’re in heat, Eclipse. One cute batpony won’t be enough to break me.” “I’m half-tempted to ask Princess Luna to keep you all to myself—and my girls,” she growled, biting her lip and stifling another moan as you laid back with arms behind your head. “Pull your weight, you stud—” With both hooves, she took you by the hands and put them to her face, letting them hold her head in their embrace until she trailed them slowly down the length of her body. “—and ravage me like the beast you are.” She ended with your hands on her flanks, and you obliged by raising her with the gentlest of touches, only to drive her down with a force to elicit a sweet surprised squeak from her. You pumped into her with abandon, reveling in the sensation you had become familiar with, and the knowledge of bringing yet another mare into your fold. Mares of all pony types were pining for you, and you were always glad to oblige them. Through the pants and slickening of your bodies with sweat, the most you could do with Eclipse was to simply pump in and out of her, so reluctant was she to switch to any other position. In fact, when you tried to, the only response you received from her was her wrangling you back into your position underneath her. She certainly was a mare who enjoyed being the top during sex. “Mmm…. I’m… I’m coming!” she said, and you grunted your acknowledgement as you drew near. Sharing your release, you screamed into each other’s shoulders as you pumped her full of your seed, and both of you collapsed onto the bed with heaving breaths. Every mare’s first time with you always ended up short and rough, and Eclipse was no different. Regardless of whether they were in heat, many mares were always ecstatic to be offered a willing sexual partner who had no qualms about further trysts—so the jitters were expelled first, and the intimacy came afterwards… normally with the aid of enhancers to keep up with their libido. As it turned out, the enhancer for your later bout of fun with the rest of the Night Guard turned out to be a potion. Eclipse hung the dark blue bottle in front of your eyes, waggling it before she tossed it into your sticky lap. “Phew. You’ll need that for tomorrow night. You know, you’re a lot better than half the stallions I’ve been with, and I’ve been with a quite a bit.” “A lot of mares tell me that,” you said, picking up the bottle and staring at your distorted reflection off of its curved polished surface. If it was anything like any of the past potions you’d had, it would taste like crap, but go down easy, with the effects kicking in shortly afterwards. You laughed at the thought of people paying out their noses for something like this back home, until a serious cough began to wrack your body. “You… uh, you okay?” she asked as you sat upright, with you coughing as you pulled in air to your lungs. She scooted over, patting you on the back to help and leaned forward, eyeing your face to check for any visible conditions. “Was our… uh, sex a little too much? Should I call for help?” “It’s…” You finished the terrible round with a dry hack, swallowing hard. Eclipse hopped off of the bed, trotting to a table on the other side of the nightstand and poured water from a silver pitcher into a cup just as resplendent. “It’s fine,” you said, snatching the cup from her hooves in the blink of an eye as she returned and downing it faster than you did the berry juice they had at the mess hall. “You sure don’t… seem fine.” “I’m fine.” Your reply was brusque. Eclipse shrunk away at your words, busying herself with inspection of the bottle as you stilled your nerves and breathing. “I’m… not sure what happened. I guess I’m just tired, always doing… well, heh, you know what I’m normally doing. I’m not sure how well the other mares would take to me coming down sick. They really like the time they spend with me.” She sighed. “You’re the stallion every mare dreams of, chief. Except you’re not a stallion, but you’re something… way better, now that I’ve been with you. Congratulations, you’ve passed my test.” You shared a soft kiss with her before she darted for the door, swishing her tail aside and letting you catch the sight of cum dripping from her pussy. “Now, if you don’t mind, I think I need to take a shower.” “We could take it together, if you want.” “I’m sure we could, but that’s the extent of my intimacy for today. We’ll have plenty of time for that later,” she said, walking out the door backwards as she pointed to another door to your left. “That’s the bathroom for this suite, by the way. Clean yourself and await Princess Luna to discuss your… results. The guards outside can help you if you get lost.” You nodded and gave a parting wave to her. “Of course, Captain. Enjoy the rest of your day.” “And you yours, chief. Try not to overwork yourself before we meet again. I know how much demand there is for you, and I don’t want to receive you already tuckered out. Keep an eye on your health, okay?” The door closed with a click, and you were left alone to contemplate your position in life. Between taking care of the barracks and servicing the mares, it felt like the latter had become your occupation in the castle. The thought of being the dream stallion for many a mare was flattering, but you felt that your life was lacking in regards to excitement—of the non-sexual variety—and your persistent milking by the mares would eventually begin to take its toll on you. Perhaps it already had. You looked at the nightstand next to the bed, staring long at the bottle sitting atop. Magic, potions, every conceivable flirt and seduction technique the mares could think of, and all the acts of amorous invitation left you desensitized to their effects. Many times you had been too busy to consider, but you wondered if it was the potions’ or the magic’s effects making you so taken with the mares, and not your genuine love for them. And while every act left you and the mare satisfied, an unease always sat within you afterwards. A dull lingering sluggishness, as if your body had strained only a little more than it could handle, not from the exercise, as you’d grown accustomed to it early on, but it had always been ther—no, it hadn’t. In the beginning, when the majority of the time you spent was with Aqua, it was never like that. It was a wonder how you had gone so far without even thinking about a checkup on how these foreign substances were affecting you. You made a note to speak with Aqua about it later. Flexing your toes, you hopped off of the bed in your birthday suit and made your way to the shower. Stretching your arms, you realized you were right—that strange fatigue was there. As per your relationship rules, any issue you had would always be discussed with Aqua. Communication was important like that. You opened the doors to your unit’s barracks and were met with the low murmur of a few mares enjoying their off time. As you closed the door behind you, your legs partially gave way due to the fatigue that still plagued you, forcing you to lean on the door. You exhaled and pulled yourself back to your feet, as a few of the mares around you gave you concerned looks. As you passed by Aqua’s bunk, she jumped out in front of you with glee on her face. “So, what’d you think? Pretty awesome, huh?” “I think I’m more interested in how you got Princess Luna of all ponies to agree to this,” you said. Both Princess Luna and Princess Cadance, it would seem. Surely Aqua wasn’t rubbing shoulders with the Princesses of Equestria as her drinking buddies? You moved to continue walking towards your room, and Aqua followed. “Well, it’s more like I agreed,” Aqua said. “Princess Luna was the one who approached me. I was a bit hesitant at first, but…” She sighed. “I don’t think it’s very fair to just keep you to ourselves, you know? The Night Guard is the Royal Guard’s sister organization. And, before you say anything, I know that you’re only assigned to our unit.” “What a nice thing for you to do,” you said with a chuckle. “Yeah, well. The rest of the Royal Guard are getting twitchy hooves seeing us hoard you. I should probably talk to Captain Armor about that.” “Yeah, you do that.” You reached the door to your room and nudged it with a shoulder, collapsing on your bed within as Aqua closed the door and joined you, sprawled out on the bed. With a sluggish arm, you withdrew the potion from your pocket and left it on the nightstand, which Aqua gave a cursory glance before turning her attention to you. “Are you okay? You seem… tired.” The way she looked at you with her hooves folded was almost too cute to bear. “Tired seems like an understatement,” you replied. The fatigue seemed to ebb and flow, no doubt due to its magical nature. “Keeping up with you mares is almost a twenty-four seven job, Aqua. And now I’ve got the Night Guard to deal with, too.” “Oh, relax. It’s not like we’re doing it every day, you know, and some of the mares have elected to stay on the meds rather than fuck you all the time.” “So do you girls have a roster of who’s getting fucked and who isn’t? Such an honor, my dear little guard,” you said with a smirk. “It’s a work in progress, but it’s also our little secret. Mares only.” She stuck her tongue out and flipped over so she was laying on top of your chest, and sighed. “You know, you’ve only been doing this for a few months, and I think you’ve probably made more of an impact on the Guard than Shining Armor making Captain.” “Flattery won’t get you anywhere tonight, Aqua. Even my bones are aching.” “Then maybe you should just sit back and relax,” she said as she took the belt of your pants in her hooves and started undoing them. “A little reward for weathering through your little surprise. I heard Captain Eclipse is a serious lay in bed.” “I literally just finished having sex with her,” you said with a groan. “Like with every mare’s first time, it’s always quick and forward, but still tiring all the same. Are you seriously trying to get into my pants right now?” “Are you suuuuure?” she said, running her hooves underneath your uniform to touch your bare chest. You sighed, and pulled her hooves out from rubbing themselves all over your naked body; the thought of dirty hooves entered your mind again, in the literal sense, unwashed and always touching the floor. “Come on, chief, I’ll even do all the work!” You let out an exasperated sigh. Taking her smiling face into your hands, you pulled her into a hug and snuggled with her on the bed. Aqua looked up to you with a questioning expression, but pushed it no further as you felt your mind drift away, accompanied by her warmth. Eventually, you found it in you to speak. “Say… I’ve been thinking: maybe we should go out one of these days,” you said. “Really?” She gasped, and crawled up your chest to look down at you with those brilliant eyes of her. “I was thinking maybe we could go to a hotel with a great view of the Canterlot valley, or maybe you’re looking to get out of the city? I know of some great places we can fuc—” Her sentence devolved into murmurs as you placed a hand on her mouth. “Aqua, no,” you said, cutting her off as she began to voice her complaint. “I’m not talking about finding someplace new to have sex in. I mean like an actual date. We rarely get out of the castle anymore these days, and I’ve never actually visited Canterlot… it’s a wonder how I haven’t gone mad with cabin fever.” “Because you’re mad with pony fever instead, duh,” she said, reaching over with her wings and tickling you on the sides of your head. “It’s hard to be bored when you’ve got the choice of any mare you want, right?” “Aqua, I’m just not in the mood for sex right now, okay?” you said, albeit a bit more huffily than you thought you would. Aqua frowned, rolling her eyes, but relented to your request. She calmed herself, returning to laying her head on your shoulder as you blankly ran your hand through her mane. “I think we should stop having sex for a while.” “I—what?!” She shot upright, sitting on top of you as you threw her a surprised look. “I mean, I… uh, this is… surprising. Did something happen today when you were with Captain Eclipse?” Silence filled the gap as you stared at her, and her concerned stare only grew more intense as the seconds ticked by. “Yes,” you finally said. “Something did happen. You know how too much of anything can become a burden, no matter how good it is? That’s what’s happening right now, between me and you, and all of the girls.” “You’re… getting tired of us? Of me?” Aqua’s voice was filled with hurt. You slapped a hand into your face and muttered a line of exhausted gibberish. “No, no, that’s not what I’m saying, Aqua. I love every one of you—and you the most—and I love all of your flanks, but all of this sex is taking its toll on my body. Eclipse… gave me a potion today.” You looked to the nightstand. “And it made me think about all the times I’ve had to use any sort of aid, enhancer, whatever, when I have sex with you all. “You girls paint a terrible, terrible picture of what it’s like to be in heat without any effective method of controlling it. It’s like having your mind locked in a cage, with the key just out of reach, that sweet release. And I found that key, released you all, but I couldn’t just stop when you all needed me, to put you all back in that cage… and besides, you all loved it. And for a time, so did I, that I had spell after spell thrown on me, potion after potion, just to make sure you girls didn’t have to suffer through that.” “And…” Her lips pursed and she let out a quiet ‘oh’ as she realized what you were getting at. “And you think all of that is doing something to you?” You nodded, much to her distress. “But that’s impossible. It’s protocol to always check for signs of magical overload before every use! Princess Luna even did one for you when you went through the portal to meet Captain Eclipse! If something was wrong, she would have stopped you from going through with the meeting entirely.” You tilted your head to look down at Aqua, who was sitting on your stomach now, hoof scratching her cheek in thought. “And what are the signs of this magical overload, then? Because you girls never mentioned anything about it to me. Why is that?” “It’s true that a lingering fatigue is a symptom of magical overload. We… we didn’t want to worry you.” Her ears flattened, and her lips went full scrunchy. “And we were a bit selfish. You’re… you’re the greatest thing that’s happened to us in a long time, and we didn’t want you to… stop.” “What was that I said about flattery?” You grinned and messed up her mane with a hand, and hugged her again. “But, yes, I’m sure this magic is doing something to me. I don’t want to push it any more than I have to until I can get it checked out. Think any of the doctors here can help?” “Well… yeah, the docs can help you.” Aqua bit her lip, eyes closed and brows furrowed in concentration. “There’s also… well, there’s Princess Twilight Sparkle. You might have heard of her before. None of the girls usually talk about her since she rarely shows up at the castle.” “Yeah, the Princess of Magic.” If there was any pony in Equestria that could help you with your problem, it was certainly Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, the Element of Magic… and renowned bookworm. “Is she going to be okay with the fact that there’s been a single guy—who isn’t a stallion—fucking a sizeable portion of the guards here?” Aqua guffawed—or it would have been one if she hadn’t snorted at the same time when you pushed the notion. “Chief, I’d say she’d be more interested in bringing more humans here. Our gender populations are skewed, and mares have some serious problems when estrus hits—you know both of those. She would understand that having as great a ‘problem solver’ such as yourself around would be a huge help for us.” “And if she becomes interested?” You looked down at her with drawn lips, bemused at the thought of a princess becoming putty in your hands. The knowledge of the princesses’ personal lives, aside from Cadance, was unknown to you, so you were unsure if bedding a princess would be a great accomplishment. “Will I have to tend to her needs, too?” “Assuming that your worry about magical overload is correct, then giving her a test run of you… might be in her interest,” Aqua said. Her voice was steady, but her eyebrows were angled downward from where you saw them, showing that she was none too pleased at adding a princess to the equation. “You sure you’re not just tired?” “If I’m tired, then going to sleep would usually solve it. It doesn’t. Besides attending to my duties here in the barracks, you do realize that aside from having sex, eating, and tending to my hygiene, I’ve been sleeping, right? I’m pushing fourteen hours of sleep a day now… that’s not normal for a human.” “Well, maybe you need some exercise, something that’s not sex. We can lay off on the magic, have you come out during PT with us,” Aqua said, batting her eyes at you. “Then every mare on the parade grounds can see your sexy flank at work.” “I can get behind that,” you said, flashing a smile back her way. “Now, there’s something else I have to ask... do you use magic in the potions, too? Because I get the same weird feeling from the potions the same way I do with the magic.” “Yes, we do, actually,” she replied. “We use a special flower to make the potions, which are dried, treated with a magical solution to increase potency, ground up, and then made into a potion.” She turned to stare at your crotch, undoubtedly caught up in the mental thought of undressing you, though you knew she wouldn’t admit it. “Those potions were made for stallions—you know, poor performance and all that. You, though… we’ve done it without any magic or potions before, and you can go at least a couple of times, easy.” “So the magic and potions have a very good chance of causing this overload… guess I’ll be sending off a letter next week. What’s the fastest way to get a letter to her?” you asked. “Well, that would be Princess Celestia, then,” came Aqua’s reply. “She and Twilight can send letters directly to each other using dragonfire, courtesy of Princess Twilight’s assistant, Spike. You should speak to her when you have the chance. She’s always willing to talk when she’s at lunch.” “Great,” you said, clapping your hands as you nudged her to the side of the bed. The scowl you received from her made you laugh as you buried your face in the pillow. “That’s tomorrow then.” You gave a stretching yawn, then started poking at her flank with your feet. “Byeeee, Aquaaaa…” “Oh, haha, chief. Fine, I’ll let you have your sleep, and I’ll let the other girls know to leave you alone for a while. In fact, let’s make it the next three days—no sex, just business, and let’s hope that’s enough to get your business sorted out.” “You’re the best, Aqua.” “I know I am,” she said smugly. You heard the sound of her hooves thump against the rug on the floor as she made her way to the door. “Sweet dreams, chief. See you in the morn—eek!” As Aqua screamed, all semblance of sleepiness went out the door and you whipped around to see her jump back as the door opened, revealing an armored Emberspark poking her head in. “Ah, I see you’re back,” Ember said. She looked pointedly at Aqua. “And what might you be doing in the chief’s quarters?” “Tending to his health,” was her meek reply. “Er, ma’am.” Ember didn’t buy it. “Sure,” she said flatly, looking at your open shirt and unbuttoned pants before meeting your eyes. “Princess Luna wishes to speak with you immediately.” The resulting sound from your mouth was akin to a beached whale. There were far too many annoyances today. “Okay, fine… Where was her office again?” “You won’t have to go far. She’s waiting in the barracks for you—private conversation. That means that all guards must vacate the premises so the meeting can commence.” She remained silent, biding her time until Aqua remained seated, and then nodded her head towards the hall behind her. “That means the both of us.” “Oh!” Aqua blushed as she followed the order, leaving the room with no further words. “And please clean yourself up before presenting yourself to Princess Luna,” Ember said, the glow of her magic buttoning your shirt back up and zipping your pants as she closed the door. When the room was silent again, you pondered taking a nap. Nothing long, maybe just… five minutes. You felt so very tired. But, princesses were princesses. Luna would discuss with you Eclipse’s decision, and you would be given the chance to inquire about magical overload. You got out of bed, already regretting the decision as you strode across and placed a hand on the doorknob. With the way you felt, you might end up using all three of your off days sleeping. Princess Luna seemed taken aback as you entered the empty barracks, sitting at a small table with a steaming cup of tea before her. “I… take it that you found Captain Eclipse satisfactory?” she asked. You took a seat—if it could be called that, as it was more akin to falling down than it was sitting—and let out a chuckle. “Well, it was more like the other way around. Everyone technically outranks me, and it’s not like I can really object, can I?” you said. A stonefaced Luna indicated that your humor was lost on her. “Eh, never mind. Think I’m good enough for the Night Guard, Princess?” “Captain Eclipse believes you will suffice for their needs,” Luna replied, taking a dainty sip of tea before she continued. “And I believe she mentioned that you were ill when you parted. Will this affect your duties?” You remained silent, letting Luna’s gaze upon you grow wary, and she eventually leaned forward, setting aside her cup and plate. “Should I call for a doctor?” she asked. “That’d… probably be for the best,” you said. Your nervousness began to permeate your body, showing up in itchy fits, and you found yourself scratching your cheek as your body felt unnaturally hot. Stifling, like it was on fire, yet there was no perspiration. Luna pulled over a silver pitcher from the platter on the table, along with another cup, and poured you water. “Drink,” she said, placing it before you. For a moment, you stared down at your reflection on the liquid’s surface and found a haggard man staring back at you. Mirrors were a habit for you every morning, and when you cleaned the bathrooms, but this was new. You weren’t sure if it was the ripples in the drink, but it seemed as if you’d gone through hell and back, and for the worse. The water went down cold and smooth, and felt like the greatest drink you’d ever had, but the frigid temperature made you cough afterwards. “Sorry… I spoke about it with Aqua earlier,” you managed. “She said it was something called magical overload? Should I be worried?” “At this current point in time, no,” Luna said. “Your symptoms are minor at worst, and despite the mystery of what it sounds like to you, there are simple and effective ways of treating it. The main problem with this magic lies in the kind of magic that persists in the body, and if my hunches are correct, then your particular case involves a hefty dose of lust and stamina-affecting magic.” “And what does that mean for me, exactly?” “Should your magical intake continue unhalted, your body will become altered by the magic as it conforms its vessel to the energies. You would, obviously, become sexually aggressive, and while there are many, many mares who would be taken with having a creature such as you around, I am sure you do not find the sentiment as pleasing.” She poured you another cup, holding out a hoof and bidding you to drink again. You obliged—your mind was reeling, and you felt light-headed, and Luna’s words seemed to echo in your skull. “So… so how can I fix it? How… how do I make it go away?” you asked. The words sounded clear in your mind, but came out slurred. “It’s… it’s really bad. I was just fine this morning…” “Your first expenditure shall be enough to keep you at an acceptable level of magic,” Luna said, procuring a small green bottle and placing it gently on the table. The color made you grimace—as if you needed something here that reminded you of throwing up. “This potion holds no magical qualities whatsoever. Normally, such a potion would be impossible to make due to the rarity of its ingredients, and of your ailment, but the crown does have access to a talented alchemist who knows her craft well. You will take this one now. Another shall be brought to you before curfew, which you will take before bed, and then you will report to Captain Eclipse tomorrow and perform as agreed upon.” Before she had even finished her last word, you already drank the potion, gagging at its bitter taste before chasing it down with even more water. To the alchemist’s credit, the potion began to take effect immediately, and relief washed over your mind and body, and the sensation was as if you’d been stuck in a desert for days and fell right into water from a brisk mountain lake. You attempted to finish off the last drops of the potion, much to Luna’s amusement. “Thank you,” you said. “I can’t believe something like that can actually happen, but… well—” You laughed, shaking your head. “—magic. Aqua seemed to imply that my condition is exceptional.” “Yes. Even with proper detection spells, it appears that magic cannot be found when it bleeds out from your body, but instead gathers within and changes you. The rare cases where this has happened to ponies were usually in unicorns of notable talent, all scholars, where they took in a great amount of magic in a short span and were unable to expend it in a timely manner.” “I was going to ask if Princess Twilight Sparkle would be interested in this, seeing…” You gestured to yourself and shrugged. “I’m one-of-a-kind, and I heard she’s pretty smart.” “Her presence will not be required,” replied Luna. “While your idea of her reputation is correct, she is only a newly-appointed princess, and is still in the process of becoming accustomed to her royal duties. We have many bright minds here in Canterlot, and they are all more than willing to help, so rest assured that you will be in good hooves.” “Thank you, Princess. I’ll be there at the tower tomorrow night.” “Yes. Please arrive when the clock strikes twelve, when night has fallen. The Night Guard tend to be at their most active during that period, and I believe you may find it beneficial to mingle with them. Expelling magic from one’s body can be achieved through many methods… coitus being one of them, assuming that you have not already ingested any magic like the copious amounts that you took in while administering to this barracks’ heat.” A stupid grin spread across you face. “So you’re saying that it’s good for me to have sex?” Luna’s face registered no expression with your juvenile humor. “Yes.” You nodded, rolling your eyes away as you cleared your throat. “I see. Thank you for your time, Princess. I very much appreciate what you did for me. How did you know to bring that potion, by the way?” “There were a few here in your unit that know of magical overload, and brought the issue to my attention when you had gone so long without exhibiting any symptoms. I was merely prepared, but Eclipse’s report all but cemented their concerns.” When she stood, you joined her, and gave each other a bow before she left. “While it may seem that you helped the mares out in the beginning, chief, it now appears that they can help you just as much.” With that, the door closed behind her. Only Lieutenant Emberspark returned, entering as Princess Luna left. She took her place next to you, sharing in your examination of the green bottle when she asked, “Is it bad?” “It’s… well, I don’t know if it’s bad, really.” You twirled the object in your hands. “It could have gotten really bad, but Princess Luna thankfully had the foresight to bring me this potion to alleviate the symptoms a bit. Could I see your helmet, please?” She looked at you confusedly, but levitated the helmet off and hovered it over to you. You rotated it so that the flat side of the helmet’s steel faced towards you, flawless and clean, and found your reflection again—back to what it originally was, the appearance of a youthful man. “Holy shit,” was all you could manage. “What’s wrong?” Ember asked, placing the helmet back atop her head as you pushed it back to her. “Earlier, my reflection was…” You gesticulated to your hair and all the features on your face. “...like someone really put me through the wringer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen myself that bad since I got shit-faced on a bar run back home years ago, and that was after several days of partying. The overload did as much wear in only a few hours, Ember… I really have to cut back on this magic stuff.” “If you really don’t think you’re cut out for it, you don’t have to go tomorrow…” “No, I think I’m going to take the chance.” You fought back a laugh and looked sideways at her, feeling a bit frisky. “You know, Princess Luna says that having sex without any magical enhancers is a good way of getting it out of my body.” Your hand reached around and rubbed the dock of her tail, eliciting a gasp from her that was followed by a harsh slap to the wrist. “Ow!” “Aqua says you’re to have three days off a week now, no exception.” Ember frowned at you, like a drill sergeant visually tearing down a fresh recruit, and with every word, the space between your faces shrunk. The intensity of her tone surprised you, and you found yourself attempting to back away, but a hoof pinned your arm in place. “And that includes today. I don’t care what sort of excuse you have for it, but this is your health we’re talking about. None of us are willing to make light of this situation, chief, so the decision is final. You, to bed, now.” “I can’t—” “Do you need a cup of warm milk and a bedtime story, too?” she asked mockingly. Her tail, the object of your affection, snapped at you and whipped the cloth of your sleeve. The force was strong enough to produce a small cut in the fabric—scary. “I said to bed now, chief, so get your sorry flank moving!” “Yes, ma’am,” you said, walking to your room as you heard the clinks of her hoofsteps behind you. As you entered, the door slammed shut behind you, and you heard the click of the lock. In panic, you checked your pockets, only to find nothing. “I… come on, really, Ember? Did you seriously just pickpocket me?” “That’s ma’am to you,” she said, voice muffled through the wood. “And I said no chances, including any chance of you getting some action with a mare before tomorrow, which is why they’re all busy with physical training for the time being. Food will be brought to you at six tonight, but until then, you are confined to your room until morning. Get some sleep.” Before you could complain, you heard her marching down the hall—loudly so—and out of earshot. You sighed, slumping into your bed as you stared at the plain white ceiling. Well, at least there was tomorrow night to look forward to... > Chapter 4: Graveyard Shift > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Oh, my goodness.” The mare looked between the clipboard floating before her, the object surrounded in faint blue magic, and you, who sat watching her with curious patience on the bed. Donning a white coat, the mare wore glasses that she fidgeted around with as she sat next to you in your bedroom. You raised a brow in response. “I… excuse me, Doctor Phial?” you asked. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just… well, when Princess Luna gave me the dossier on you, I saw the pictures and expected you to be… shorter. There weren’t any size comparisons. Maybe I should get them to work on that…” “I’m sorry I failed to meet your expectations,” you quipped. “Oh, no! No! Don’t apologize!” Phial laughed and waved a hoof at you. “It’s just that when the rumors began to circulate about a… well, an amazing hunk servicing mares with spectacular performance, I thought that you would be something closer in stature to a pony, suffice to say.” “Well, I can kneel, if that’s what you’re asking…” Phial blushed furiously and buried her eyes behind the clipboard. “I am… well aware of your knees, chief,” she said, clearing her throat before continuing. “As for your checkup, you are clean, for now. Continue taking the potions that Princess Luna has provided you with, and we shall see what happens from there.” “Must be a lot of work to get me these potions.” You fiddled with your thumbs, mind as clear as a sparkling night sky and your body untensed, but you feared putting yourself to anything strenuous should the symptoms suddenly return. The thought of being in such a crippled state with no one around to help you made you wary of how you commenced with your chores now. “I know I haven’t spoken much to Princess Luna up until recently… but if you see her, give her my thanks for potions.” “She’s always a bit leery when dealing with new acquaintances,” Phial said, stuffing the clipboard into the doctor’s bag next to her chair. “I heard about how you got here. I was part of the team that had to examine the mess you left behind… there was blood everywhere.” “Sorry. The wall wouldn’t move out of the way, so…” You shrugged. “...I had to make do.” She giggled. “Well, that little incident sparked a wave of gossip here in the castle. You know, a lot of the ponies thought you died when the staff took you out of the room on a stretcher with all the blood you left behind. Princess Celestia had to calm them all, while Princess Luna was actually with us, escorting you to the medical wing of the castle.” “She escorted me?” You raised an eyebrow at this, and the mare nodded. “Yep. She was just a nonstop chatterbox, just question after question, right up until we went into the emergency room—which we thankfully didn’t need to use, but she was worried all the same.” She clasped her bag shut and stood, smiling at you. “She might seem a bit cold, at first, but she’s a softie at heart. Just give her some time.” You chuckled and shook your head. The atmosphere when Luna around could be best described as frigid, sapping your motivation to act jovial around her until the awkwardness seeped into the room thick enough to be cut with a knife. “We’ve spoken with each other on several occasions now, and… well, I don’t think she likes me.” “She’s like that with everyone, chief,” Phial replied immediately. No doubt that she had encountered many a patient and fellow staff member who’d presented such a concern to her. “Trust me, chief, she doesn’t hate you. It’s very rare that Luna sees fit to actually visit anypony, even in the castle, on her own volition. She could just have easily sent the potion via a messenger with a letter instead. Just give her some time.” “Oh.” Perhaps there was a chance to strengthen the relationship, after all. “Well, thank you, Doctor Phial.” Phial placed a hoof on the doorknob, clicking her tongue at you. “Seeing as how you’re on a first-name basis with all of the mares here, you can just call me Glass—the name’s Glass Phial. And… well…” She hummed to herself, her smile stretching wide. A blush formed that only deepened as she looked at you. “I might be calling upon your services myself, at some point in the future.” “I would say that’s entirely up to my decision, isn’t it?” you deadpanned. “While I understand the severity of having to deal with your estrus, you aren’t in heat right now, and I already have my plate stacked high dealing with as many mares as I am right now.” You sighed, and looked out the window. While the skies were as perfect as ever, a bright sun with a few clouds hovering by, your dampened mood only made the whole scene irritating to watch. “Not to mention that I’ve yet to work on the relationship aspect of this deal…” Glass shrugged. “Well, if you’re ever interested in me, I’m always game for a good romp,” she said. And with that, she left, leaving you alone in the room with your thoughts. These moments were growing maddeningly common, so you got off the bed and immediately sat down to the paperwork piled high on your desk. You heard a knock on the door before it opened. Aqua’s face peered in, catching you rubbing your head as you sat at the table. “How did the checkup go, chief?” she asked. “I’m fine. Unfortunately, the doctor is also interested in laying with me,” you said with a groan. “Is it too much to find a mare that isn’t so terribly focused on my sexual performance? I should feel like a god of sex and pleasure, but all I’m feeling is terrible dread that hangs over my head like a cloud any time I talk to a mare.” “Well, there’s Princess Luna and Cadance,” she said, slipping in and settling herself into one of the two empty chairs in front of you. “But… well, they’re princesses, so I guess that doesn’t really count.” She eyed the empty green bottle sitting next to your nightstand. “I see you’ve already taken today’s dosage.” “Tastes like crap, but it goes down smooth, at least,” you said. “I feel fine, but when I was talking to Princess Luna, it was like…” You shuddered and shook your head. “Body on fire, mind couldn’t think… the world was swirling in my eyes. So long as I avoid taking in any more magic, my chances of going through another episode will be less…” “Got anything else going on after your stint with the Night Guard tonight?” “No. And I plan to keep it that way, for a while, so that means no kinky times for the both of us until I’m cleared.” Aqua pouted, in that adorable way she always did, and you couldn’t stop the stupid grin that spread on your face. “Hey, we still have that date tentatively planned, right? I might think about doing it after the day’s done…” You wiggled your eyebrows at her. “Uh, yeah…” Aqua bit her lip, and nervously rubbed her right arm. “About that—you’re… not allowed to leave the castle grounds until otherwise stated.” You remained silent. Your first outing to somewhere that wasn’t in this castle was already being shut down before it began? The urge to scream was strong, but you fought it back, only slowly nodding to Aqua’s words. “I see…” You sighed. “That’s disappointing. I can only walk around the castle gardens so many times before it becomes stale.” “I know you were really looking forward to visiting Canterlot, chief,” Aqua said, “but you’re the castle’s best-kept secret right now. Outside of those walls, not a single soul knows that we’ve been housing you for months now. The public might panic, and once the word gets out, the gossip that we’ve kept locked up in here will be out of the bag, too. And that’s where things have the chance to get ugly.” You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “What’s the worst that could happen?” “Mares, chief. The castle would be raining mares.” “Is it that bad out there?” “I’m exaggerating, but only a teeny bit,” Aqua said, emphasizing the word by winking with an eye and producing a small space between her hooves. “There are mares stallion-starved out there that would go to Tartarus and back just to have a chance with someone like you. You realize that two out of every three conversations the maids have here is about you, right?” “And what do they say about the chief?” you asked. Your stupid grin toyed with Aqua’s flat expression, but you held fast. “Oh, they say so many things about you,” Aqua said, nodding her head as she cleared her throat. “Among other things, you now apparently have a massive dick, magic that can make mares cum where they stand, a voice that can melt gold, and you also happen to be a very prominent member of the guard. Which in a way, I guess you are, but still.” “Are they serious? I walk by them every day when I’m on my rounds,” you said, throwing your arms up in the air. You reclined into your chair, kicking your feet up onto the desk as you folded your arms. “Is this seriously what they say, or are you just pulling my chain?” “Pulling your what?” “Are you joking with me about this, Aqua?” “Well… yeah,” she said, smiling to herself. “I should have known you wouldn’t fall for that. But my point still stands: if word gets out that you can pleasure the strongest and toughest mares in all of Equestria, we’ll have a line forming up here that’ll go out the gates and all the way down to Ponyville in the valley.” “So I’m going to be stuck in the castle forever?” Aqua shook her head in a fit of haste. “No, no, it’s not like that. Princess Celestia has… well, she’s been busy working on a speech to introduce you to the public. You’ve been here for a while now, and I think we’ve learned enough of each other where we can say that you aren’t a threat to ponies. After that, she’ll probably let you head out into the city, let you mingle for a bit.” “So, like a celebrity, then?” You scratched your chin. Certainly, the popularity was tempting, but the last thing you really wanted was to be stalked by paparazzi. Perhaps Princess Celestia had something in mind for that, too, but you weren’t holding your breath. “I’m not sure I’d like the sound of that. It would make our date pretty awkward.” “Well, you’re going to get a lot of attention when we head into the city, public announcement or not. It’s just this way, ponies won’t be wondering who this strange creature is strolling about with a pretty pegasus at his side.” She paused, then added, “With a squad of Royal Guard escorting them.” “Oh, come on, I’m going to have an escort, too?” you said, groaning. “At this point, I’d say we should just stay here and do dinner and a lovely evening walk, but it doesn’t help that we’d have to deal with everyone else here in the castle, too. I just can’t catch a break with this, can I?” “Well, I’m sure we can make something work. We could just make reservations at a private resort. There’s a few up north past Manehattan in the mountains we can do.” She giggled, giddily stamping her hooves onto the cushions of her seat—another thing ponies did when they were excited, you noticed. “Oh, we should go to a resort! It’ll be nice, quiet, relaxing, plenty of great sights, foods to eat, and they cater to griffons, too! Maybe you can finally eat something you like.” You wagged the feather of your quill at her. “I like it. Though…” You grasped for words and gestured between the both of you. “We don’t exactly have much in the way of money. I’d imagine that a trip like that’s going to cost quite a number of bits, a kind of number that I only ever see on my invoices.” Aqua looked down at the ground, ears folded. “Yeah… as much as I like being in the Guard, we don’t get much in the way of vacations. That’s never been much of a problem, though… until I met you.” “Aww, that’s so sweet,” you said. You left your chair to hoist her up with the tenderest of touches, and spun around the room with her embraced in your arms. “The other mares are going to be so jealous.” “That’s not what I intended it to be, just that…” She squirmed in your grasp, then froze and stared into your eyes with determination. “What do you know about herds?” You stopped your spinning, letting her situate herself comfortably next to you when you let her down onto the bed, and sat down next to her afterwards. “Uh… a herd? I can’t say that I’ve heard you or the other guards say much of it, but I have caught the word used once or twice by some of the maids.” She took a deep breath. “Okay. Well, a herd is essentially a stallion and any number of mares that he’s in a committed relationship with. There’s plenty of other details, but I’ll go into them further at your leisure, but the fact of the matter is that, to an outsider, it would appear that you are the stallion, and the entire unit comprises the mares of your herd.” “Ah, right, that whole gender disparity thing,” you said, nodding. “What’s the average number of mares in a herd, anyway?” Aqua said nothing for several minutes, and you guessed that having as many mares that you did wasn’t a normal occurrence. “The number varies,” she said after several tense minutes, “but it’s usually several, nothing near to the amount of mares that you’re with now. Entrance into the herd depends entirely upon the current members, which would be us two, in this case, but since it’s well-known that you’ve bedded all of us and there hasn’t been any outright denial of their involvement with you, everypony assumes that we’re a herd.” “I’m pretty sure if this herd—with all of us—is taken to its logical conclusion, then I would probably end up marrying you all. Er, you do have marriage here, right?” Upon receiving a nod, you continued, “I’m not sure if protocol would allow this. That would mean that every other mare in this unit, including Lieutenant Emberspark, your superior, would become your sisters-in-law.” “Oh, right.” She thinned her lips, ears flopping about as she was lost in thought. You patiently waited for her answer, and pondered the nuances of married life with an entire unit of Royal Guard until she broke her silence with a sigh and a shrug. “Well, that’s out of the picture then. It does set a bad picture, and I’m sure Princess Celestia would never approve of it anyway.” “Maybe we should get the word out that we don’t have a herd,” you suggested. Aqua nodded, and brushed up against you. Her feathers tickled your skin as she rolled into your lap, hooves hanging over her chest. Unable to resist the temptation, you found your right hand brushing down the length of her stomach, which elicited a contented coo from her. “When it comes to rubs, I just love those hands of yours,” she said, holding your arm as you kneaded your fingers into her coat.. “I’ll have to talk to the other girls about it, but I think they’ll understand. Our previous agreement was strictly for sexual relief, after all. Mmm, your hands are so warm… I love your belly rubs.” “I’m feeling a bit tired again… care to share a nap with me?” “That depends.” She rolled over onto your thighs and sat face-down, her muzzle buried in your crotch. “Maybe after I attend to you first…” “No, Aqua. I need to be able to service the Night Guard tonight,” you said, disgruntled with her approaches. Picking her up before her tongue could move to undo your zipper—which she had ample practice with—you moved her aside to the empty space of your queen-sized bed. “All of the Night Guard… I’m not so sure it’ll turn out as well this time, without those enhancers. Any chance there are aphrodisiacs out there that don’t involve magically-treated ingredients?” “Yeah. They’re also exotic, and that means they’re expensive. We’re talking top-notch Zebrican apothecary work with ingredients that don’t grow here, and unfortunately a controlled substance here in Equestria after a few scandals with it.” You wondered how effectively this Zebrican potion worked, and whether or not the crown would be willing to pay for it. Keeping you fit to attend to the mares’ needs seemed important enough, and perhaps Princess Luna would be willing to negotiate on your behalf. “Ugh. After tonight, I’ll ask Princess Luna about it.” You laid down, bringing yourself prone alongside Aqua. A faceful of mane greeted you as you opened your eyes as she rolled over to you. “Still up for that nap?” “Definitely,” she said, snuggling into you as her wings were soft lumps against your chest. You felt her rump grind against your crotch, which you put a stop to with a hard slap to her flank. “Ow!” “Not today,” you repeated in a singsong tone. You thought of ways to indulge yourself after your time with the Night Guard; it was strange how a change in situation made you grow fonder of their presence. “Tomorrow, alright?” You kissed her on the cheek and rested your head. “Night, Aqua.” You heard her laugh. “It’s afternoon right now.” “Mmm, whatever. Be happy you can sleep with me on a day where your shift ended early.” You felt the space in front of you grow cold as she vacated the bed, followed by the room darkening as she shut the curtains. The blankets ruffled as she returned, and you felt her lips touch your cheek before she landed her head on your shoulder. “I know, I know. Have a nice nap, chief.” Your nap was interrupted by the sound of hooves on stone, and from what you could tell it was coming from every direction. As you groggily sat up, the first thing you noticed was the moonlight shining in from the window, with the moon itself high up in the sky. A rush of adrenaline coursed through your veins as you realized you missed the appointed time, and were stuck in a room full of batponies, all of them looking at you. “He’s awake!” you heard one whisper. “Lock down his limbs before he can react!” “Don’t let him get away!” Before you could say anything, an armored hoof covered your mouth, and the batponies each took one of your extremities in their hooves, with the remaining few observing near the window. If it weren’t for the fact that you were being kidnapped in the middle of the night, you would have thought their glowing eyes were rather charming. “Stop struggling! We didn’t want to wake up your marefriend, so we dropped by to whisk you away or something romantic like that!” you heard Captain Eclipse whisper into your ear. So she was the one covering your mouth, not that you’d be able to tell in the darkness. “Wake who up, exactly?” came Aqua’s deadpan reply. Eclipse’s eyes went wide, her ears shooting up in shock as she looked over the bed. Aqua rolled over, wearing a smile at catching the batponies in the act. “Though I suppose it would be right for them to collect on a prior agreement, don’t you, chief?” “Are we free to take him or not?” Eclipse asked. The other batponies nodded, and you noticed some of them fidgeting around on their hooves. Several shuffled around the room with impatience, and you caught the sight of their juices weaving down their legs, shone by the light from the open window that they entered from. “Uh…” You held up your hand to let them know you were about to speak, but Aqua cut you off. “You’re free. And make sure to be gentle with him, Captain, else you won’t be seeing him again. I hope you understand.” Aqua’s tail flicked towards you, brushing against your leg. The fine hairs were cool to the touch and silky as they splayed out across your leg. Your marefriend gave Eclipse a smile, and you knew she was reminding all of the batponies who you really belonged to. “We know of his… condition,” Eclipse said, eyeing the empty green bottle on the nightstand right next to the both of you. “We’ll be as gentle as we can allow. You know how strenuous these interactions can be.” “Great.” Aqua’s smile was now on you, and she blew you a kiss. “Have fun, chief.” “I’d rather just go back to—whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Your cry was a short one as you found yourself picked up by the arms by a pair of batponies and whisked out of the window before you even knew what happened. The night air was cold, the wind stung your eyes, and your flailing legs did little to help stabilize the ponies carrying you to their tower. Much to their skill, they managed to maintain their course and avoid barreling into the other batponies escorting you. “Window’s open, Captain!” you heard the one carrying you on your left shout. “Alright! Everypony in! Go, go, go!” Eclipse shouted, pointing towards the open window in Luna’s tower, situated the furthest from the front gates with the grounds cloistered away with its own gates and walls. The batponies dove for the window, and as you neared it, you realized that the window seemed small. As you grew even nearer, you saw that it was indeed far too small for a form of your size. You shook around in their grasp, attempting to raise your legs for the imminent landing but found yourself too drowsy for your body to comply. “Uh… ladies, I don’t think I’m going to fit through that window!” you warned them. “Nonsense! Princess Luna uses it all the time!” “And I’m taller than she is, okay? This isn’t going to work!” “No guts, no glory, chief!” cheered the batpony on your right. “We’ll get you through, no problem!” You weren’t sure of that—you’d seen windows like the one you were about to enter used exclusively by pegasi on roofs, though the ones the Night Guard used were on the side of the walls for ease of access. “Here we go!” “Can’t you slow down?!” “Nope! Time is of the essence, chief!” The entrance was drawing close far quicker than you would have liked, and your entire body tensed in anticipation of the pain to come. Your vision was obscured entirely by the tower on your approach when you felt hooves kick your legs back and up into the air. “And in you go!” Smooth tile greeted your shirt as you slid into the tower, thankful for the integrity of your head as you sailed through the frame. That, however, was cut short, as you realized that you weren’t slowing down. Gliding along the floor, you heard the batponies behind you gasp in shock and holler to catch you as the wall drew close. You attempted to rotate yourself so that you would hit the wall with your side or your feet, but it was too late. Only a partial turn could be managed, and your cold hands managed to gain enough traction on the tile—ridiculously smooth tile, as if you were sailing across ice—to alter your course. All of this happened in a matter of several seconds. The last thing you heard before your cheek met the wall was the sound of Eclipse shouting for you. “Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no…!” Your head throbbed with a dull pain as you opened your eyes to a spinning world. Through the blur, you could make out the moving form of purple and black as you groggily reached your arm into the air. A hoof grasped it, and gently forced it back down. “You’re awake!” Eclipse leaned in to nuzzle you, which you reciprocated to the best of your ability. You ended up wagging your head like a drunken fool. “Don’t move! You took a serious hit back there. I’m so sorry, I should have informed the girls more on proper landing technique for… uh, you. The Night Guard doesn’t have much experience with foreign dignitaries.” A mare snorted. “It’s all your fault, Starburst. If you only listened to him and slowed down before we landed, we wouldn’t be here right now.” “What? You’re one to talk, Moon River! You kicked up his hooves first right before we landed, which means that you’re the one responsible for him kissing the wall!” You heard her blow a raspberry in response. “And now look at what you’ve done to him!” “It wouldn’t have been a problem if you didn’t follow along with it. That means we’re both at fault here.” “Nuh-unh! I only followed you because I thought you knew what you were doing!” “I only did it because you didn’t stop me from doing it! I didn’t know what to do, either!” As the two continued bickering, your vision finally cleared enough for you to make out details beyond the tip of your nose. Rising up, you groaned with exertion as the dizziness failed to subside, and found yourself holding onto Eclipse for support. “Ugh… that really smarts,” you muttered. “—you stupid idiot!” The two mares standing across from you had their fangs bared towards each other. Their forms stood low as they stood off against each other, ready to pounce at the slightest movement. “Stop trying to pin the blame on me!” Starburst shouted. Moon River growled. “Why, you—” “Okay! Ladies! That’s enough, alright?” you interrupted, rubbing your head as another batpony arrived with an ice pack, which you gladly accepted. With a grateful sigh, the cooled bag granted you immediate relief, and you turned your attention to the two mares. “Starburst, Moon River. Please don’t argue. I’m fine, alright?” The mares relaxed, taking a tentative step away from each other at Starburst risked a look at you. Her coat was also a brilliant deep black, like Eclipse, but her mane and tail were a pure icy blue, with her eyes to match. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know that landing would have ended up like the way it did. I should have slowed down.” “A-ha!” Moon River held her head high, sneering at Starburst. Her coat was the standard grey-and-purple palette with golden eyes that you saw the regular members of the Night Guard wear, save that her mane flowed down past her shoulders. Curious thoughts about their history came to the fore of your mind, but you had better things to worry about. “It was all your—” “Moon River!” Eclipse answered this time, still holding your body close as you nursed your head. “Stand down! As far as things are concerned, you are both in the fault here for not heeding his instructions, and the lack of common sense the two of you demonstrated put the chief’s life at risk. I chose you two because I believed you were suited to the task, but it looks like I was wrong.” Eclipse’s face was a muted expression of disgust, and you awaited a verbal lashing that would follow, but never did. The two mares stiffened, facing as one towards Eclipse and bowing their heads. “We are sorry, Captain, please forgive us,” said both in unison. “This is supposed to be a night to enjoy, for all of us,” Eclipse said, her brows furrowing as she clenched her eyes shut—you noticed that her body relaxed, though she only hugged closer to you. “Don’t sour it with petty arguments. Your punishments will be decided later. For now… let us help the chief to the quarters.” With a tap, she urged you to stand, and you managed to achieve a semblance of balance once you were on your feet. “This way, chief.” Starburst took you by the other arm, turning you aside to stroll down a serene hallway, and with your eyes adjusted to the darkness, the details were clear. Princess Luna’s preference for the dark, sleek, and beautiful was no surprise to you: the tiles on the ground were a cold black stone with iconography of the night sky and stars etched white atop. The windows you passed were adorned with three-toned curtains of black, midnight blue, and purple— the same colors used by Nightmare Moon, but you chalked the choices up to Luna’s own personal preference rather than a descent back to madness. The tower was a series of curved halls both up and down, empty rooms filled with great murals and statues posed with great flair, countless ceilings marked with a single large moon towering above the visitor with its army of stars. You’d yet to see anything that resembled the bedroom you’d met Eclipse in, though the mares gradually brought you upward, to what you assumed were their quarters. At this point, you were well and in full control of your senses, able to walk without need of aid. “Wouldn’t it have been better for you us to just fly to our destination in the first place?” you asked. Starburst and Moon River shared a glance that implied that they, too, had wondered the same thing, but Eclipse merely laughed. “And miss the chance to show you where we live? Don’t you think it’s great here? This whole tower and its grounds are the domain of the Night Guard! It’s much better than living in those cramped barracks, don’t you think?” she said with gusto, hooves spread wide at the work of art that was Luna’s tower. “You can move in here with us and have plenty of space to do whatever you want!” “I’m not moving out of the barracks.” Best to shut that one down early, you figured. The mares all whined at your response, offering sweet words and batting eyes to sway your opinion. They reached deaf ears. “I said no, ladies. No matter what you say, that’s my home, where all of my girls are.” “And your marefriend,” Moon River said. “Yes, and my marefriend,” you agreed. “Besides, this tower’s a maze! And what do you even do with all of these rooms, anyway?” “Sparring, exercise, that sort of stuff,” Starburst said. “Really?” said a mare behind you. “I thought we only used the top floor rooms for that. Nopony ever comes down here except when we do our weekly tower cleaning run.” “Shh, don’t say that,” Starburst said in a tone of jest. “He might get the idea that he can work his cute flank helping us clean the tower.” When she noticed you looking at her, she added, “Er, if you don’t mind leading our cleaning train, that is…” “You’re so awkward, Starburst,” chimed in another mare. “I am not!” No further words were exchanged, and Eclipse finally brought the group to their destination in silence. Double doors, sleek black as if made of obsidian, greeted your eyes, and the great symbol of the two sisters stood marked with gold—a full circle, half-sun and half-moon, one on each door. “Here we are!” Eclipse said, nodding to the two mares at her side. The two Night Guards dutifully stepped forward and pulled the weighty doors open, grunting with exertion. Through the door you went, only to find yourself… outside? The floor of the room remained intact, with tiles, beds, and cushions all about, but there were no walls, only columns that shored up the great domed roof above you. “This is…” you began. Eclipse hovered past you, her leathery wings producing deep flaps that echoed with the whispering wind. “You guessed it. Magic,” she said, coming to a stop at a massive bed in the center of the room, dressed with a star-etched deep purple blanket, and surrounded with a moat of cushions. A calm breeze ran through your hair, and you attempted to ascertain such a spectacle by looking to where you’d just entered from. The door stood alone and open, with only its frame standing surrounded by thin air. You let out an awestruck whistle. “Very impressive stuff you’ve got here. Princess Luna has fine taste.” “That she does. Now that we’re here, let’s get started. Starburst, do the chief a favor and strip him down, would you?” In a heartbeat, you felt Starburst leap onto your back and all of her hooves dig into the cloth of your coat and pants. In a swift motion, she reached around and unbuttoned your coat, undid your belt, and unzipped your pants in a single moment, pulling them all away at once. “Wow, that was… quick,” you said, staring down at your underpants and dress shirt. The shirt, too, went, leaving only the clothing that covered your pride and joy. Starburst nudged you—or rather, shoved you forward, and you tripped onto the bed and into the arms of a waiting Eclipse. “Now...” Eclipse said huskily. Her tongue flicked out, giving your cheek a taste. Her hoof circled around your chest, and then drifted downwards towards your crotch while you took her head in both hands and brought her in for a kiss. “Mmm… so willing, little pet. You’ll get what you deserve tonight.” Her hoof dug in and dragged the cloth off of your raging hard-on, and she purred as she stroked your length. “Ready for a wild night, Eclipse?” you asked, caressing her flanks. She smiled deviously at you, withdrawing her agonizing touch and leaving your dick throbbing. “Oh, I am.” Her fangs showed through her smile, and she looked past your shoulder. The scent of the mares grew stronger as they closed in from behind you, and you found a pair of hooves working you in place of Eclipse’s. “But I will have you when they’re all done… and it’s only fair that I save the best for last. Now, it’s bad manners to keep a lady waiting…” “Me first!” Starburst plowed through the crowd of mares that had gathered in front of her and did a flip over your head, landing in your lap and looking absolutely ecstatic. Then her eyes found your dick. “Huh. It’s different.” You gasped as she swallowed it whole, taking it right down to the base. Her tongue wrapped itself around your shaft, pulling, sucking, tasting you, her head bobbing up and down in your lap. You were dangerously close to orgasm when she slowed, drawing her head back and staring up at you as her lips released the head with a wet smack. “I can get used to different.” An impressive feat with those fangs of hers. “Careful, Starburst,” said Eclipse, settling in on the cushion floor across from you. She laid her head on the bed, and you saw her arms shift underneath herself—almost imperceptible had you not been looking for her. Her eyes went half-lidded, and her next words were spoken in a daze. “I think you’re getting him turned on…” “Oh, he’s been turned on for a while now. Isn’t that right, chief?” Starburst asked. A playful lick and a giggle followed, but you weren’t going to be outdone, and they weren’t going to be the only ones having fun. As Starburst resumed your blowjob, you unleashed your full teasing arsenal: first, the wings and their sensitive components, working your way to playing with her ears, the base of her tail, and touching the edges of her pussy, drenched heavy with her juices. “Mmf!” Starburst was panting when she stopped, breathing heavy as she buckled down on your lap, your dick forgotten as her body trembled at your ceaseless fondling. “S-stop that! You’re not going to win—nng! No! I—oh, Celest—mmf—blessed Luna, yes! I… I’m going to…!” Her body tensed and erupted in a wave of pleasure, crowning you the winner of your little competition, and putting you in the prime position to overtake her. You planted a line of kisses along the length of her neck as you traded spots, taking a position above her as she mumbled incoherently at the onset of her orgasm. “Wh… what are you—” Starburst practically melted at your touch, and came only by you teasing her. What a sensitive mare she was, but you figured that being as pent up as the poor Night Guard must have been did no favors in keeping your thresholds in check. Of course, you weren’t finished yet—the main course was next. You embraced her fully, the size of your body dwarfing hers. “Shh, Starburst,” you whispered. “Just close your eyes.” She did as told, biting her lower lip as your weight shifted. Your knees bit into the mattress, and you gently raised her by the flanks. “Oh, chief… what are you—ah!” You drove into her with abandon, and her pussy greedily took in your dick, a continuation of from one set of lips to another. Her body still shook with the fading shock of her last orgasm, but already she was moaning so loudly that you were sure that everypony in the castle could hear her. You breathed into the pillow, feeling the heat of your breath taper off into the cloth of the pillow, and you, too, lost yourself in the act. Starburst hugged you tight, and you caught sight of her expression out of the corner of your eye as you pumped into her—an expression of pure bliss, mouth ajar and eyes glazed over, head bouncing with every thrust. Every wave of ecstasy that washed over your body pushed your mind to its limits, and you lost track of time as you fucked her relentlessly. Once, twice, three times, going nonstop, yet you realized that while Starburst had gone completely limp from rutting her silly, you received no satisfaction in return. You wondered if you should speak your mind, and stopped to pull yourself off of Starburst. The mare snored lightly as you backed away, taking a familiar green bottle from Eclipse’s hooves as you caught your breath. “Is… is she dead?” you asked before downing the potion and gagging at its taste. Eclipse harrumphed. “No, she’s not dead, but… blessed Luna, indeed. Chief, you fucked her eight times in a row without even stopping! Most stallions can only go half of that, and you’re still rock hard!” she said, jabbing at your penis, still dripping with Starburst’s juices. You didn’t feel strange, and the potion was already at work, so you wondered why you were unable to achieve release. Another visit to Doctor Phial would have to be arranged, but now wasn’t the time to worry the girls. “So…” you said. “Who’s next?” Again, the room exploded in a flood of mares vying for your affections, but this time, your other escort prevailed. Moon River claimed her position as the second lay for the night by adroitly slipping by the other mares’ packed advances, weaving along the sides and slipping herself right in front of you before the next closest mare could even touch her tail. “That would be me!” She flashed you her pearly whites, wings popping open as she looked down at your dick. “Of course it’d be you,” you said. Like with Aqua and all winged ponies, Moon was so light that you could pick her up with only one hand, and brought her close to you. Her ears twitched as you blew into them, massaging her wings the whole time. “I’m your little fucktoy for tonight, Moon… I can do anything you want me to.” “Ah…” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed hard as she watched you nervously as she bent her head to accept the kisses to her cheek. “You, uh…” “Yes?” you asked. When she didn’t answer, you went to playing with her tail’s base and dug your hands in underneath her to toy with her pussy and anus only to find that it was drenching wet. “All you have to do is ask, Moon River…” “Make me your mare,” was her quiet reply. Hand laced with her juices, you placed a finger into her mouth. She suckled on it as she looked up to you. “Seems awfully… generic,” you said, narrowing your eyes at her with a curious smile. “Unless you want the same treatment that Starburst got, that is…” “No, I mean… make me your mare in front of…” She swallowed. “...all of them.” So she got off on having others watch. Given the intimacy of ponies and the casualness with which they regarded sex, especially with each other—you fucked Aqua’s entire unit in their own barracks, of all things—you found it an odd that such a fetish would actually exist. You were already doing it in front of everyone else here, but it seemed Moon River wanted to take it to the next level. She stood and turned around, facing the other mares with an expression that spoke of raging hormones and a voyeuristic rush. Her tail raised, presenting all of her pussy to you, and she looked back to you with inviting eyes. “Tonight, I’m your fucktoy,” she said, so quiet as if she were afraid that the others would hear, but her proximity to the others made it all but impossible. “Make me your mare.” Talking dirty already made you horny, and her invitation was the cherry on top. Your sex drive was on pause, forever suspended in that pleasure state as you plowed Starburst like your life depended on it, and you had no doubt that it would be the same way with Moon River, too. The need to cum scratched at the back of your mind like nails on a chalkboard, but you shoved it away to worry about later. You huffed, taking in the sight for a moment longer before you went to work. You swept your hands underneath her, knocking her off of her hooves and onto her stomach, and she went wide-eyed as you grasped her by the buttocks and grinded your dick against the crux of her soft folds. “Is this what you want, Moon River?” She swallowed hard. “Yes…” she said, her voice sensuous. So it appeared she was into your little game—that was good. While you weren’t sure if you liked it, it was beyond arousing in the heat of the moment. “I can give it to you,” you said, leaning forward and covering her body with yours. Her wings flapped, a feeble attempt to get you to back off, but you swatted them aside with ease and pinned her down to the bed by her neck. You kissed behind her left ear, enjoying the moan she let out. “But you’ll have to ask for it.” “I’m… I’m a naughty mare, chief. Please… please give it to me.” You found yourself surprised as her tail wrapped around you, pressing your dick tight against the round nub of her anus. You gritted your teeth at the sensation, sliding it down to place it right against her pussy. “I’m a horny little pony. Show everypony what a… a slut I am.” “Good girl.” Her attention was elsewhere, directed at the rest of the Night Guard. All the mares congregated on or next to the bed, all with expression of uncertainty and wanting… wanting to be in her place. Eclipse was no different, her shoulders slowly shaking and leaving no wonder to what she was doing below. You slid into Moon without any difficulty, feeling her walls close in around your dick. “Oh, my—” At this point, your dick was hard enough that the feeling it gave had you thinking it was made of stone. Just slipping into her would have been enough to make you cum, but again it reached that painful peak of satisfaction only to have it bleed away and leave only soreness and frustration behind. Frustration which you took out on her, railing into her like a man possessed as you attempted to keep that high for as long as you could. Moon was given no reprieve, and with every time she came to orgasm, you pushed into her harder than before. The blanket you fucked on top of piled underneath your knees as you pushed her closer to the edge of the bed, closer to all the watching eyes. Each orgasm came with a position change: first, it was from behind, then on her side, in the missionary position, sitting on your lap, but as she came yet another time, you could have been considered feral, so lost to lust that words from the mares as they whispered to each other was drowned out by the urges that rampaged your mind. Moon’s body quivered from the repeated climaxing, her head dangling off the edge of the bed, mane touching the floor, and still you pounded away with no indication of slowing down. Sexually aggressive, that was what Luna told you. At the time, you found the notion preposterous—surely you would have willpower to stave off any outburst—but now you found yourself in the precarious position of being under the influence of that power… and it terrified you. Your lust-driven persona clawed in your mind, demanding release, satisfaction, but your eyes did not lie to you: that the petite mare laid bare before you placed all her trust into you, as with every mare who laid with you did. And you were close to breaking that trust. Too close. You thrusted into her one last time as she climaxed again, the last time for the night. Your consciousness was awash with awareness now, like water running through a scorched desert, and you realized the extent of your hold over Moon. She looked absolutely horrendous, with her mane thrown about and her coat ruffled, and your hands still gripped her shoulders. “I… Moon?” you asked, gently releasing her. “Yes… chief…?” came her faint reply. “Are you okay?” You picked her head up and pulled her further onto the bed, and placed her down as softly as you could. “Did you like it?” She stirred, turning her head and looking at you with sleepy eyes. “Yes… I loved it. You’re amazing, chief…” Yawning, she turned aside and mumbled, “I just wish more stallions were like you…” The light snoring followed, and you sighed in relief. “Hoho, wow.” Eclipse kept her voice low as she stared in bewilderment at your still-erect cock. “You are absolutely godlike tonight, chief. Forget the magic—if this is how you’re always like, then you never needed it in the first place!” An admirable guess, but she was unfortunately wrong. A conversation was needed, of course, but that would come later. For now, you decided to play along. “Hey, I saved myself for you girls,” you said, “and I appreciate being showered in compliments.” You passed a warm smile to all of the mares, but you felt a stabbing cold in your gut as you lied to their faces, and your smile faltered, only slightly. “We have all night, ladies. Let’s take our time, shall we?” “Ugh…” You keeled over onto the bed as you dropped Eclipse onto it, rolling over and bumping butts with each other. The moon still stood high in the night sky, which meant it was either a permanent illusion in the barracks of the batponies, who would be accustomed to such a thing, or you’d done your duty faster than it seemed. “I… don’t want to do that again,” you said. “There’s still me, remember?” Eclipse said. A hard hoof reached around to stroke your length, but you only let out a groan of pain in return. “Hmm. Guess being without magic is starting to wear on you, after all. Kind of expected, given how many times you came… and I sort of knocked off a few myself. Still ready and raring to go, though.” “That’s the thing, though, Eclipse… I didn’t cum once.” “What…” Eclipse looked between your cock and your face in disbelief, alternating faster until she ended up shaking her head to clear out her surprise. “You’re telling me that you did all of my Night Guard without even cumming once?” “Yeah. This isn’t supposed to be normal, by the way. We usually go limp after a couple of times, and that’s being very generous.” You rolled over to the other side, hissing in pain as your dick flopped against the bedsheet. “Ack! Okay, when I’m not doing anything with it, it really hurts. The only time it doesn’t is when I’m fucking a mare, and going that route has not yielded any beneficial results.” “Why didn’t you say anything? We could have stopped!” “And what? Ruin your whole night?” you snapped back. “I can take a little more of this, no problem, and I can handle at least one more—” Her hoof flew across your cheek and you saw stars for a moment. Aghast, you looked back to her, hand touching the stricken spot. Eclipse’s nose touched yours, her eyes staring you down with a mixture of concern and disappointment. “Don’t you ever think about putting us ahead of your wellbeing. You think you would have gotten that with the potions.” She sighed and arched her neck over to nuzzle you, practically rubbing her mane all over your head. “You’re such a dear to do this for us, and I don’t want you to get hurt… we can always reschedule, chief. It’s not a problem for us. We’ve been without effective relief for a while, so we can wait a few more days, or weeks, or what have you.” “You’re the only mare left,” you said, looking at the other mares at the room’s centerpiece bed. They laid about, all slumbering on the bed or the pillows surrounding it, thoroughly satisfied with you. “Just one more, Eclipse. I can handle it, I promise.” “You…” Eclipse’s mouth opened and shut, her eyes darting about as she fought for words. “You are not going to… you’re…” She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, shuffling onto you. “O-Okay, fine. I… I am so really, really horny right now, and seeing as how you haven’t ejaculated yet, I’m going to see if I’m the mare that can make you do it.” You nodded, running your hands down her sides and enjoying the smooth touch of her coat. The batponies had a finer coat than the pegasi, so it was as if your fingers ran across velvet. “I’d love to see you try,” you said. “So, how do you want to—” A hoof covered your mouth, and Eclipse shook her head. “Shut up. You aren’t going to be doing any of the work tonight. You’ve done enough as it is… and seeing how faithful you’ve been, my little pet, it’s only fair that I do all the work this time.” The hoof receded, and the only thing you did was nod. Happy with your complicity, Eclipse took your hands off of your body, giving a cute shake of her hoof in front of your eyes to let you know that there would be no touching. You took your hands and grasped the bedsheet with it, tensing as she situated herself over your dick. Eclipse threw her head back, tossing her mane about as she raised her hooves up to her head. She slowly stroked them across her cheeks and down her neck, running them along the slender shape of her body and the plumpness of her flanks, ending with her hooves rubbing against the skin of your stomach. You watched the entire display with mute interest, your arousal returning stronger than ever. “Oh, you like that, don’t you?” she growled. “I’m surprised you didn’t go for our weak points on the wings tonight, chief, but I guess that wasn’t needed. Your dick is enough to drive a mare to the edge.” She dropped herself down, giving a long moan as she basked in the penetration. Her walls tightened, wrapping themselves around your shaft as she began to work. “Just…” You inhaled sharply, holding the breath in your throat. “Just… once. Only once, okay?” “Of course,” Eclipse said. “Only once.” Sadness crept into her voice, and you felt bad for her. It was her duty as the Captain of the Night Guard to ensure that her subordinates were taken care of, so it wouldn’t surprise you if Eclipse was normally the one who received the short end of the stick during these arrangements, if she even got to see any action at all. “I’ll make it up to you,” you breathed out. Eclipse regarded you with discerning eyes, her pace painstaking as she prolonged the moment. Her lips twitched as she thought upon what you said, but her indecisiveness was replaced with a confident grin. “I know you will,” she said. “Now, chief, shh. Let me work my magic, okay?” “Anything you say, Lady Eclipse.” She laughed. “Oh, I’m not a noblemare, chief. But I will be your lady tonight. A lady and her lord… doesn’t that sound nice? Now, honestly, be quiet, would you? You’re making it hard for me to focus on trying to get you to cum.” You nodded, staring down at your hands as they held the fabric of the sheets with a death grip. Sweating like you’ve never sweated before, there was a huge impulse in your mind to reverse the roles of the game, to knock her aside and absolutely ravage her. You mentally cursed yourself—intrusive thoughts weren’t uncommon, but in this case, the compulsion was absolutely unbearable. The scratching feeling in the back of your mind returned,but you remained steadfast. Eclipse moaned as she proceeded faster and faster, the lips of her pussy slickened with her juices as her form rocked over your body. The soft mounds of her teats were in clear sight, her wings were spread, and your mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of how much better you could make her feel, if only you could touch them. In a clever ploy by the hidden parts of your mind, your hands drifted closer to her with every passing second, until they were touching your hips by the time she reached a fever pitch. At this point, you were more focused on honing your will into stopping your hands from moving than you did Eclipse, who duly enjoyed your cock and was moaning with the fire of passion in her voice. The sensation peaked again, right at that painful cusp of orgasm but achieving no release. You settled with staring at the stone ceiling’s fine features until you felt her convulse, where your raging temperament dissipated once she collapsed onto your shoulder. “Did… did it work?” she asked, panting. You gave a breathy laugh, shaking your head. “No… no, it didn’t,” you said. “I’m sorry, Eclipse.” Still erect, your penis remained pointed high, as if mocking your inability to cum as you stared down at it with a frown. “Don’t be. Just… just make sure you see the doctor again tomorrow, okay? And talk with Princess Luna, too.” Eclipse snuggled up to you, offering the comfort of her warmth, if not the gratification of her body. You wrapped an arm around her, taking the time to tease her wings. “Ehehe… stop it, chief. I’m still jittery from the sex, and I’d say you have bigger things to worry about.” She glanced at your cock. “Literally.” “Tomorrow, I’ll talk to the doctor and Princess Luna,” you said. “For now, get some sleep.” Eclipse yawned and gave you a quick nuzzle before rolling over to a pillow, where she rested her head. “Good night, chief… and thanks for tonight.” “It was my pleasure.” “No, no…” She smacked her lips and her voice lulled as fatigue took her. “It was ours…” You watched her as she fell asleep, until her breathing steadied and silence was the only companion remaining. A longing mood tugged at your heart, and you ran a gentle hand through her mane as you contemplated the strange symptoms you’d been under—what you assumed to be what was that same daze that occurred when you spoke with Princess Luna, except when exposed to the act that required the use of magic in the first place. Any notion of continued sex had been completely halted with the passing of this night. You needed a way to expunge the rest of the magic from your body, soon, before you ended up passing the point of no return, where then every mare you saw was nothing more than another outlet for your insatiable lust. You thought of Aqua, and your love for her, and a random thought scrolled through your mind—the idea of love being able to conquer all things. A bitter laugh, low and dry, left your lips. That was nothing but a foolish hope, but you clung to that idea like a raft amidst the uncaring waters of a tumultuous sea. There was nothing better than the thought of returning to your room, but you were tired and in no shape to descend the tower without any help, so it had to wait until next morning. You weren’t able to fall asleep that night.